SW: From the Ashes 3: Dawn of Chaos
by Jedi Carpet
Summary: After Jacen Solo's daring plot to recover his imprisioned uncle from the Sith, they return to find the Jedi Order in shambles, and the Empire looking for a new leader in a budding war against the GA.
1. 18 Days

**AN: My apologizes for the long delay on the completion of this story. For the last year I have been setting dates, then moving them back, and further back, and I finally decided four months ago that I would get this done starting the new year! As well as having full time work, part time school, and a couple of charity organizations I volunteer at, and a nice trip to Europe last summer thrown in, I don't write chapter by chapter, but by story line from start to finish, so that means I have a complete story finished, not individual chapters like some writers. I find that allows me to provide more detail in earlier chapters to hint at future events, and I even found after putting up the previous stories that I wish I hadn't so the details could be more uniform. C'est la vie, non? I also have a significantly more complex story archetecture than the previous two. I think I counted over 18 plot lines, several of which overlap at times. I must say, I've never used three spreadsheets to write a story before. Anywho, here is the first chapter of the last story in my trillogy, From the Ashes. I hope you enjoy it. **

**For those of you who feel lost, _Dawn of Chaos_ takes place immediately after _Face of the Enemy_, which takes place shortly after _Détente's End_, the two stories you'll find in my profile.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or anything in this story, though I did create Eriana Fostenon and Astro :)

* * *

18 Days...

Kilometres above the surface of Ossus, Jacen Solo squeezed his way into the cockpit of the _Jade Shadow._ While the ship normally had adequate space, several of the Jedi gathered around the cockpit to reassure themselves that Luke and Mara were alive. Jacen was glad he was still not allowing himself full access to the Force since the emotions playing across their faces hinted about how bewildered, frightened and relieved they all were. Just looking at their expressions gave him a headache.

Cighal and Tionne had immediately taken Kam into their care in the _Shadow's_ modest med centrewhile Luke and Mara had sprinted to the cockpit before Jacen had even made it on board. Tresina and several of the children lined the main corridor, forcing Jacen to move sideways through the crowd. His Mandalorian armour and sniper rifle were cramping his movements in the tight space, so he had replaced the helmet Lanos had returned to him on his head. He felt odd that, after receiving approval from his team leader, he felt more a Mandalorian now that he was back among the Jedi than he had during the last few months that he had infiltrated the Mandalorian strike force.

Upon reaching the cockpit he found Lowbacca and Mara arguing about piloting the ship. It was Mara's ship, but she was still exhausted from being in captivity in the Sith torture chamber. Lowbacca refused to let her fly for this reason, growling insistently that she leave him to do the flying as he evaded Mandalorian ships in hot pursuit. To add to the distractions, Luke and Ben were trying to drag her back to their quarters to have some family time.

"Fine!" Mara exclaimed, seeing she was overruled. "Just let me set the course to Coruscant myself."

"Hapes," Jacen said, drawing several looks. The helmet artificially deepened his voice, startling everyone – especially Ben. "Set a course for Hapes. Coruscant is hostile."

"What?" Mara asked.

"Two days ago Cal Omas issued orders to arrest all Jedi on sight because of several diplomatic failures and some behind-the-scenes plotting on Soora's part," Jacen explained as he removed his helmet. His voice lightened immediately with the lack of voice modification technology within the helmet. "The Jedi Temple blasted off and disappeared. Either they've gone to Hapes or the Empire. Hapes is closer, but my guess is they went to Bastion for protection from Pellaeon. If we go to Hapes, at the very least we can meet up with Tenel Ka and get an idea of what's going on. Maybe even acquire another ship, seeing as our numbers are pushing the air filters."

"Wait a minute, _Luke_." Mara exclaimed, rounding on her husband with a look mixed with anger and disbelief. "How does the Jedi Temple 'blast away?' I thought you were building a _temple_, not a _ship_!"

Luke and Lowie exchanged guilty glances before a blaster bolt shook the ship, returning Lowie's attention to the escape from Ossus' gravity well.

"The Council decided that the Temple would be designed to be space worthy," Luke said sheepishly. "That's why it took so long to complete. There were repulsors and booster engines built into the base, as well as basic sublight and hyperdrive engines. It also had to be made structurally strong enough to survive atmospheric exit and entry, as well as the vacuum of space. We didn't want to risk another Order 66." Luke finished lamely, referring to the fateful night when the Old Jedi Order was destroyed during the Clone Wars almost half a century ago.

[The Council would only agree to use that feature if Coruscant was indeed hostile,] Lowie barked as he spun the ship to avoid several Mandalorian blaster bolts. [Being closer, Hapes does sound like the more logical choice for us.]

"Thank you," Jacen said with a polite smirk.

Mara set the course, and, after ensuring all the Jedi had been safely strapped in, Lowbacca finally engaged the hyperdrive and left Ossus behind. As soon as it was safe, Ben dragged his mom away from the cockpit, leaving Jacen and Lowbacca alone among the swirling view of hyperspace. Jacen fell into the copilot's seat like a sack of chakroot and rested his head against the back of the seat. Even to Lowbacca's weak Wookiee eyes, his friend looked exhausted.

[A Mandalorian?] Lowie asked, appraising Jacen's armour.

"Yeah," Jacen said, starting to feel a little uncomfortable in the armour. Unfortunately, he had nothing else to wear, but, as per the Jacen Solo Handbook: when all else fails, make a joke. "They ran out of fake trees and animals at the disguise shop."

Lowie chuffed with laughter, but not at the joke. [Welcome back, my friend.]

"Again," Jacen smiled weakly.

* * *

Sekava fought his way through the Sith base on Ossus, both physically and mentally. He walked past his fellow students, their lives bleeding out before him, trying to push himself to walk past them. His diminishing mental health had been further fractured by his simple defeat at the hands of Jacen Solo, who had been disguised within a Mandalorian commando team for months. Confusion rampaged through his broken mind, adding to his fury and hate. To make matters worse, a nagging little voice that sounded so much like Morris's kept saying _This isn't you._

He did not know where to go. He stalked past Sith students who were screaming in pain from deep wounds, severed limbs, and those sobbing at the misfortune of their friends.

He forced himself to not care.

Crying and screaming were signs of weakness.

He would not be weak.

But part of him wanted to care.

He Force-pushed a particularly large Sith out of his aimless way and a massive hand grabbed his head. Before he knew what was happening, he was slammed against a wall and a hand was against his throat.

He tried pushing and pulling against the attacker before he realized Darth Krak was slowly squeezing his neck, making it very difficult to breathe and concentrate on using the Force.

"You failed us, Sekava," Krak said, somehow not moving his lips. "This does not bode well for your future."

It took Sekava a few moments to realize Krak had not spoken at all. Soora's face came into view, looking like someone who had eaten a thoroughly unpleasant meal and was looking for someone to vomit on.

"I'll kill Solo," Sekava choked out. "No one will stop me!"

"Solo is a much more formidable opponent than you, child," Soora said in as condescending a tone as he could muster. "You have your uses, but you will not kill Solo. That will be my joy, and mine alone."

Despite his all rage, he felt like a womprat trapped in a cave surrounded by hungry Tuskans.

"We will find another purpose for you, young Sekava," Soora chided him. "Being defeated by Solo is no large failure, so you will be kept alive to fail again another day. Go to your room and contemplate your stupidity."

Krak released Sekava, and the miserable youth disappeared as quickly as he could.

He had finally decided where to go.

* * *

Consciousness slowly returned to Tahiri as if the lights in the room had slowly been brought to full brightness. As Jacen had promised, his attack had not hurt her at all, not even leaving the lingering muscle tension that most people felt after being electrocuted with the Force.

A noise directed her attention to the entrance of a woman. It was Blade, one of the Manadlorian commandos who had been working with Jacen unwittingly.

"Good morning, _Sunshine_," Blade said, in a slightly mocking tone. "Have a good nap?"

In response, Tahiri Force-shoved the other woman back a few paces and kipped up to her feet.

"You were working with them!" She accused the Mandalorians. "You helped them escape!"

"Not quite, little Sith," Lanos said, appearing at the door. The Mandalorian leader's voice was inscrutable. "We didn't know he was among us, and I'm surprised _you_ didn't recognize him with all the time you spent together. You were a Jedi, weren't you?"

Tahiri searched her memories and finally found the conversation she had had with Jacen before he blasted her. As soon as she was satisfied, the memory faded away again, leaving her only with the satisfaction that all was well.

"Solo knows tricks even Master Bulq would be fooled by, but _you_ spent more time around him than anyone. Lie to me and tell me you never noticed odd behaviour for a Mandalorian from him. Tell me you never recognized a celebrity in your midst. Are you as much the fool I think you are?" Tahiri's eyes narrowed, deliberately provoking him.

"What are you two talking about?" Parmis demanded. "Where is Roshi?"

"You mean Jacen Solo," Lanos corrected. "He has posed as Roshi, as one of us, for months. And she knew it."

If Tahiri could see through the Mandalorian helmets, she suspected each face would look shocked from the revelation. She could sense Parmis and Squeak going over events in their heads, trying to find some justification for the accusation one way or the other. Blade was a blank slate, either too shocked to think about the situation or too firmly opposed to the Sith to take her point of view.

At Lanos's accusation, Tahiri froze. Luckily, Riina did not, and Tahiri allowed her to take control

"You dare accuse _me_ of treason, you Mandalorian scum?" Her lightsaber flared to life in her hand and she pointed it at the offending commando. "This was _your_ command, and _you_ screwed it up. _Your_ neck will be on the line."

She used the Force to push the Mandalorians out of her way and left the holding cell, pausing only to slam the door behind her to lock the commando team in.

* * *

Darth Krak and Soora Bulq walked the boundaries of the outer wall surrounding the former Sith training complex they had liberated from the Jedi. Blood stains, debris and body parts littered the ground liberally, forcing the two Sith Lords to tread carefully. As they walked, they tried to find some measure of calmness to gather their thoughts into a cohesive plan to get back at the Jedi. Soora's mind showed surprising focus, as if post-battle fury and the gore surrounding them brought him some twisted form of comfort. Darth Krak was uncomfortable, but did not allow his minor discomfort to affect his feelings.

"We need to take the politics to a new level," Soora finally said. "It is not enough to demoralize the Jedi, but we must depopularize them. They hold too much popular support. We must take away their allies before we can destroy them."

"Then the senate will be controlled," Krak agreed. "And to control the Senate, the Chief of State must be controlled. Win his favour, and he will bring support to us."

"There is some wisdom in that," Soora agreed. "Cal Omas is a fool. He still thinks a political solution can fix this. We must not allow that, but neither can we allow him to be replaced. Replacing him with a bigger fool would spell disaster for us."

"Agreed."

"I want the Mandalorians ready for battle," Soora said. "We will make fleet movements that appear aggressive to coax the Jedi into attacking us."

"The Jedi will be hard to infiltrate," Krak said, "But we need spies within their ranks. I suggest we infiltrate their closest ally – the Empire."

"Well we can't exactly infiltrate the _Wookiees_, can we?" Soora asked sarcastically. "The Empire will be difficult to infiltrate, but it can be done. Have our best agents find places within their fleet."

As they walked along, Krak reached down and pulled a lightsaber out of the hand of a dead former student of his. He tossed the hilt in the air and caught it.

"How should we address the escape of Skywalker?" Krak asked. "The galaxy thinks him dead, but he is obviously not. His return will be…an awkward situation for us."

"We will tell them we knew nothing of Skywalker's presence on Ossus," Soora replied. "He must have been hiding in the forest without our knowledge and stole one of our ships."

"We could go one step further," Krak said as he tossed the lightsaber hilt into the air again and catching it behind his back. "Perhaps the Jedi orchestrated Skywalker's disappearance as a sympathy ploy."

Soora smiled in a way that made Krak both afraid and satisfied.

"You are learning well, my young apprentice."

* * *

With great displeasure, Urik Ragash, or, _Mandalore_, as he had come to prefer, woke up in the medical bay of his command ship with a 2-1B medical droid hovering over him taking various readings of his body.

"Droid, give me my status," Urik remanded.

"Good morning, sir," the droid said politely. "You have had significant trauma…"

"Let me guess; from battle?"

"Precisely, sir," The droid said, oblivious to the blatant sarcasm. "Your foot has been reattached, and after several bacta treatments, you should be in perfect form. Please rest, sir. I was told to inform you we will arrive at Ossus in several hours."

_Perfect form,_ Urik thought as he closed his eyes and started to plot. _A second defeat at Fett's hands…I must ensure nobody learns of this._

* * *

Tahiri marched down the abandoned hallways away from the secret holding area in search of Soora Bulq with hardly an ounce of desire to find him. As much as she did not want to tell him about Luke's escape, it would be better for her to get it over with as soon as possible – especially if she could pin the escape on the Mandalorians. She rounded a corner and entered a courtyard littered with bodies. Many were dead, but some moaned in pain or screamed. Their calls for help tore at her heart as they begging for medical assistance. Only a handful of droids tended the injured, moving methodically across the battlefield to treat those most in need. The sight of the injured Sith students stunned her, but not so much because of the gruesome display of injuries. She had seen much worse during the Yuuzhan Vong war. What surprised her was that she was sufficiently distracted in her thoughts that she had not heard the screams or felt the pain of these people until she saw them.

And, although her heart ached to stop, she could not help them for fear of losing her cover.

She spotted Soora and Darth Krak walking back into the compound through a damaged section of wall about a couple hundred metres away. She rushed past the unfortunate victims of the tentaratek attack as they reached toward her, begging for her help.

"Master Bulq, an unfortunate situation has arisen," Tahiri started, earning her an angered gaze from her master.

"Unfortunate?" He sneered. "More unfortunate than half our ranks being torn to shreds by raging beasts? More unfortunate than Jacen Solo stealing our Jedi captives? Tell me, _child_, what could be more unfortunate than _that_?"

"That would be the unfortunate situation I was referring to," Tahiri said, surprised Soora had already known about what happened.

"Good," Soora said. "Otherwise I might have reason to kill someone else. Whose failure is this?"

Tahiri's heart jumped at the question. She could blame the Mandalorian commandos and protect her cover, as she had initially planned, but Jacen had asked her to protect them. Since the Mandalorians really had no part in what happened and she could not live with herself for hanging them for her plans, she could take the blame herself and risk her untimely execution.

"Master, I believe we are all at fault," She said in sudden inspiration. "We both know how deceptive Solo can be. Many people were fooled by his plot, myself included."

"Indeed," Soora said in a contemplative tone. "But you were closest to him in this time. You will be punished."

She tensed, gripping the lightsaber hilt hidden under her cape, waiting for her master's lightsaber to slash toward her and for the battle she knew she could not win…

"The Mandalorians will no longer be yours to play with," Soora finally said. "They will be reassigned. It will be your duty to explain that to them. That will be your punishment."

Soora turned and walked away, leaving Krak and Tahiri looking at each other with confused understanding. They both turned away from each other, knowing full well what the other was thinking.

_He's losing it._

* * *

Steaming hot water pounding on flesh could wash away many things. Blood. Chunks of flesh. The smell of carnage. Even the grit under fingernails.

What would not wash away, however, was what haunted Hashi the most. Every time she closed her eyes she found herself leaning against the shower wall as the hot water beat against her flesh. These were the moments that trapped her conscious mind as unwanted images and thoughts came to her, keeping her locked in a battle for her own sanity, questioning the beliefs that lead her here.

Some things were trivial, like why the Jedi decided to install basic water showers instead of the newer sonic showers, or how much water had been used while she leaned there for the short eternity she had unconsciously created. With clinical detachment, she absently thought that such thoughts were her mind's defence against the other thoughts that preyed on her like a pack of hungry sand panthers.

Other things of slight importance, like why Sekava resisted her advances, or how much she wanted to be in his arms, popped into her mind as well.

Then there were the thoughts about the battle.

Battle.

No. It was not a _battle_.

It was a_ massacre_.

Every time she closed her eyes she saw the Terentateks charging through the Sith ranks, stampeding or slashing apart her classmates with little regard for their own safety. She saw her own futile attacks bouncing off the thick armoured scales of one of those great beasts as it slashed Lord Oueyta in half with a single swipe of its massive claw, taking her closest friend away from her forever. She even saw the sight of the defensive wall that she slammed into face-first when the Tentaratek's leg caught her by surprise and sent her soaring across the battlefield. But worst of all was lying on the ground, stunned from the impact, watching Oueyta's remains being trampled by the Terentatek and being unable to do anything as the beast leaned over to sniff her own petrified form. At that point she had not known whether the residual shock of the impact or the fear of the beast's drooling mouth full of razor-sharp teeth had kept her paralyzed. It did not matter. All she remembered was the beast running away, leaving her feeling hollow and confused.

Somehow she had stumbled back to her dorm, past the dead and dying bodies of her classmates, too stunned to stop to help them. Somehow she had ended up in the shower with the water on high heat, ripping off her soaked and stained clothes as she tried to cry and strip and scream away the images of the massacre that seemed to be playing like an endless holohorror right before her eyes.

The sound of her outside dorm room door clicking shut did what the steaming water had not. Her mind snapped to awareness, and she looked through the semi-etched transparisteel shower stall at the half-open door that closed off the refresher area, but could not see who had entered. Using the Force, she called her lightsaber, still attached to her discarded clothing, to her hand. She detached her lightsaber from the belt and slowly crept out of the shower.

"Who's there?" She demanded. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself to protect her modesty, and opened the door further.

"Sekava!" She exclaimed. "You scared me!"

She let the towel drop away to expose herself.

"I could use some cheering up," she said playfully. "You look kinda down, too."

Sekava responded by activating his lightsaber and slashing at hers in one fluid motion. She gasped and jumped back against the shower stall as her destroyed lightsaber clattered to the ground.

"It is _your_ fault," he growled. "You made...distracted...let him get away!"

"What are you...?" Hashi attempted to ask, but she found herself slammed against the transparisteel half a metre off the ground.

"You make me weak," Sekava growled with vivid anger. "I must end you. He tells me to. He makes sense. _You_ do not."

"Who?" Hashi's question was never answered. A slash of red sent half her head one way, and the rest of her body collapsed against the shower stall. If the body had lived even a minute longer, it would have seen Sekava clutching onto it dearly, crying to himself and asking it where he went wrong.


	2. 17 Days

**AN: Postings will be Friday evenings or Saturday mornings until I run out of stuff to post. It'll depend on when I remember and how busy I am on Friday...**

**Reviews and remarks always welcome!**

* * *

**17 Days...**

At the south landing pad connected to Fountain Palace, Queen Mother Tenel Ka arrived behind her guards to greet the familiar appearance of the battle-scarred _Jade Shadow_ and several figures in Jedi robes. While over a dozen Jedi lingered around the ship obviously happy to be out in the open air, only four figures approached Tenel Ka. The first, she recognized easily, was her old friend Lowbacca. She stepped forward, grasped forearms and exchanged smiles with him, opting for a more traditional greeting in public. The other three, she did not recognize. Two had their hoods drawn up to hide their faces, and the third wore full Mandalorian commando battle armour. She could not sense a thing from the three cloaked figures through the Force. For some reason, their identities were being disguised.

[May we go somewhere more private?] Lowbacca asked.

Tenel Ka nodded and marched off towards a nearby sanctuary that had recently been swept for surveillance equipment. On the way there, she ordered one of her aides to refuel and make emergency repairs to the _Jade Shadow_. Half the guards followed her, and the other half watched the Jedi. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Tenel Ka and her four guests entered while the guards took up position outside the door. The elaborate designs of the benches and exotic flora inside the sanctuary seemed of little interest to the off-worlders compared to the queen herself. She activated a security field to give them privacy. Finally, she turned to her guests with the Tenel Ka version of a smile for all but her closest friends – a slightly less grim face. She took Lowbacca's left paw in her hand and looked into his eyes. "Lowbacca, the last I heard the _Jade Shadow_ was lost with all hands. How did you escape?"

"The same way we all did," A familiar voice, though deeper than she remembered, said. The Mandalorian removed his helmet, and the face of Jacen Solo appeared along with those of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker from behind the lowered hoods.

Tenel Ka dropped Lowie's paw and looked at each face in shock.

"You…you're…"

"Alive and well, thanks to Jacen and Lowie," Luke said with a smile.

Blinking back tears of happiness, Tenel Ka finally did smile and stepped forward to hug each of her guests in turn, Lowbacca included, and held Jacen's hug the longest despite the uncomfortable armour between them.

"Welcome back," she finally said as she let go of Jacen.

"Tenel Ka," Luke stepped forward, drawing her attention to him with his serious tone. "We need to know what is happening with the Jedi. Has the Council contacted you?"

"Yes," she said, composing herself. She sat down and gestured for them to do likewise. "I presume you already know the Council evacuated Coruscant three days ago?"

"Tahiri told me as much," Jacen said, trying to move a broad leaf of the tree which grew over his seat away from his face with little success. Taking the bench next to Tenel Ka's, he was stuck with one spot that was partially overgrown. "We passed encrypted notes to each other while working together among the Sith ranks."

"Master Seybatine contacted me yesterday to let me know they arrived safely among our friends in the Empire." Tenel Ka continued. "By Master Durron's order, the Temple was launched. Pellaeon has graciously offered to refit it with weaponry and shielding to make it combat ready, and the modifications are proceeding as we speak. I have already sent several turbolaser batteries and hyperspace mines to help defray the cost of the refit. Master Seybatine also requested for all Jedi to make way to Bastion for orders. She said I was exempt from this request as my orders are to keep Hapes safe."

"What is happening on Coruscant, politically?" Luke asked. By Tenel Ka's trained eye, she could tell something was bothering Luke from when she said Master Durron had ordered the launch, but she knew he would bring it up if it was important to her.

"Cal Omas has used the Temple's departure as a sign of the Jedi's guilt," Tenel Ka said bitterly. "The Senate is torn between a shrinking group that supports the Jedi, and those of the majority who buy into the propaganda. Several videos have come to light which place the Jedi as guerrillas trying to shape the Alliance in their own vision. The few who support the Jedi are changing allegiances purely out of fear."

"What sorts of videos?" Mara asked.

"Kyp broke into Cal Omas' office during a meeting with Soora." It was Jacen who spoke. He had opted to hold the offending leaf with one hand rather than continue his battle with it. "And I heard rumours of a staged assault on Mandalore by Sith dressed as Jedi."

"That and more," Tenel Ka said. "Most recently, Thrackan Sal-Solo has amassed massive political support among Corellians with a video of an alleged Jedi kidnapping of his daughter. Before Thrackan's video came to light, Corellia was supporting the Jedi strongly."

"Ouch." Luke leaned back, but before he could speak, Tenel Ka continued.

"There were also reports of Jedi diplomacy missions being foiled; some with disastrous results," Tenel Ka said. "These 'blunders', as the senate labelled them, led to the attempted house arrest of the Jedi."

"Anything else?" Luke asked, fearing the answer.

"Not on the Jedi. At least not that I have heard," Tenel Ka replied. "However, by analysing the groups in the Senate, and support among non-members, there appears to be a growing secondary alliance among Jedi supporters developing in the outer-rim territories and various clusters."

"Sounds like the rebellion all over again," Mara commented.

"With much better support," Tenel Ka smiled. "Within those groups are the Empire, the Corporate sector, the newly built shipyards at Belgaroth, the Mon Calamari, Bespin, Manaan, Thyferra…" Her voice trialed off.

"Much better supported," Luke agreed. "Though quite spread out. Belgaroth and Thyferra are at the far side of the galaxy from the Empire, and Hapes is somewhat in the middle. Mon Calamari and the Corporate Sector are practically at the edge of the galaxy. Moving assets around defensive fronts will be extremely difficult."

"Indeed," Tenel Ka agreed. "With the Alliance centred in the Core, their defensive fronts and supply lines will be much shorter than ours. Some supportive planets on both sides are isolated pockets within hostile territory, like Corellia and former Hutt Space."

"We should leave for the Jedi Council immediately," Luke said. "We need to have a coordinated front on our side before we even try to meddle in galactic politics."

"A wise decision," Tenel Ka agreed. "I will escort you back to the _Jade Shadow_. It should be refuelled by now."

"Thank you," Mara said. "We'll depart as soon as we're on board."

The Jedi replaced their disguises as Tenel Ka made her way over to the security screen. Upon deactivating it, a young woman came running towards her.

"Your highness!" she called.

"Ali?" Tenel Ka asked. "What is wrong?"

"Galactic Alliance ships are pouring out of the transitory mists!" She breathed heavily.

"How many?"

"Hundreds!" Ali exclaimed. "And more appearing by the moment!"

"Master Skywalker, please join me," Tenel Ka requested, and broke into a run. Jacen and Luke followed her to the command centre of the Hapan Defence Fleet and surveyed the situation upon arrival. Sensors displayed nearly two thousand ships that had entered Hapan space and were taking up a stationary orbit, including a Super Star Destroyer and many of the newest and largest ships the Alliance Fleet had at its disposal.

"Your highness!" One officer called out. "We are being hailed!"

Luke and Jacen stepped out of holocamera's view, and she nodded to the officer. A moment later Gavin Darklighter's face appeared with crooked Admiral bars on his collar.

"Queen Mother Tenel Ka," Gavin said gravely. "On behalf of the fleet, I'd like to request a sign up sheet for this Jedi Federation you guys are cooking up."

* * *

Nearly every class Sekava attended was devoid of the usual noise, laughter and talking that had often annoyed him. Worse than the noise was the somber tones everyone carried, reflecting the loss or hospitalization of so many friends and rivals. Even though the bodies had been cleared away, the treatment Sekava received had not changed.

Per Sith tradition, the strong were the most likely to survive and flourish. The tentaratek attack had proven just that. The weak were culled, and the strong were relatively well enough to continue attending classes. Unfortunately, the strong were also the students that heckled Sekava the most.

What Sekava came to realize was that they used him as a scapegoat for their anger because they were jealous of his abilities. His favour with Lord Krak. His rapid rise through his training. They were even jealous that he had been sent on his own mission.

Nobody knew he had killed Hashi. After he came to his senses and realized what he had done, he had disposed of her body in the middle of the night, bringing her deep into the forest. By the time anyone would find her remains, it would be unlikely that the injuries would be recognizable as lightsaber burns. If anyone asked him, he merely said he had not seen her and avoided the topic. Everyone's attitudes were quite despondent since the attack, so remorse and guilt blended into the background as well as a hidden homicide.

Amid the problems, Sekava found himself with a new friend. Or rather, friends.

The voices that had coached him along that eventful night had not left him alone. They continued to speak to him, offering words lit with wisdom amid the fog of his confusion.

Through the voices, he found his abilities blossoming. They whispered things to him to increase his rage, bring him focus, and make it easier to unleash the torrents of power caged within him.

Sometimes the voices would sound like people he knew. The mysterious dragon within. Morris. Darth Krak. Hashi. That other kid that Soora killed so long ago. The street vendor on Nar Shadda that gave him those tasty things a long time ago. That guy from that place that did that thing. Even the other guy from the other year on that planet. Or was it a girl? Whoever it was, whoever they were, they directed him, gave him advice, and helped him get through dealing with others. Most importantly, they gave him focus. They all motivated him with one commonality, whispering the name of the one who held the key to breaking the chain that imprisoned him:

_Jacen Solo_

* * *

Inside the war room filled with vertical transparisteel displays, holographic imagers, and computer terminals, Soora's lieutenants stood around the central holo imager as they discussed the political future of the Sith-Mandalorian alliance.

"Lord Krak and I have already determined how to solve the Skywalker situation," Soora announced. "But we have much to do if we are to bring the Jedi to their knees.

"Right now our spy indicates that the Jedi are disorganized and divided, but Skywalker's presence will quickly remedy this. We should consider fracturing the Jedi a futile effort since it will not be long before he regains control over the Council. While Skywalker is unifing the Jedi, we will split him from his allies."

Soora punched a button, displaying a three-dimensional map of the galaxy. Immediately recognizable were the various territories mapped out by colour according to allegiance. The Empire, Hapes, Corellia, and most of the Outer Rim had a green aura while most of the core planets glowed red. There were also some red and green dots within the opposite-coloured areas. The Unknown Regions and a few other pockets did not have an aura, indicating they were deemed neutral.

"Our greatest chance at destabilizing the Jedi will be through political efforts," Krak picked up where Soora had left off. "If we can steal enough systems from them, their coalition will fail from a lack of support."

"We should take Corellia and Hapes," Urik suggested. The Mandalorian seemed to be favouring his right foot, an injury of his latest encounter with Boba Fett. "Corellia's manufacturing base will be a great asset to whoever holds their allegiance, and Hapes has a formidable fleet."

"Hapes is run by a Jedi," Tahiri said. "She is a Dathomirian warrior that our people failed to kill once already. I doubt we will have success there."

"I have an…alternative method to deal with that," Soora said slyly. "I once learned of a potion of Sith origin from Darth Tyrannus that can control even a Jedi. With Hapes's political history, we should be able to find a partner amongst the aristocracy. I will have an agent contact a likely candidate."

"Thracken Sal-Solo is already under our employ," Darth Krak said. "Corellia will be ours soon, so we need not worry about that. The plans are already in motion, and the vote will commence shortly."

"Tyferria," Tahiri said. "We should take control of the Bacta. The Jedi control Manaan and Tyferria, the two major suppliers of medical equipment in the galaxy. Market prices on Coruscant have already tripled for both kolto and bacta, and we will need supplies."

"We should take both planets," Urik suggested. "Deprive _them_ from medical supplies."

"The Selkath of Manaan support the Jedi quite adamantly," Soora said. "The Jedi helped them a long time ago, and afterward their neutrality was dropped. The Empire has also been their biggest customer since the fall of Palpatine."

"Speaking of the Empire," Tahiri said, knowing full well that Pellaeon would never turn against Luke or Jacen. "How do we dislodge them from the Jedi?"

After a few minutes of silence, Soora finally spoke.

"That will be for all of us to consider," Soora said. "Urik, dispatch envoys to Tyferria, the Corporate Sector, Bespin, and any other planets you deem necessary. I want to pull the rug out from under Skywalker. I also want envoys sent to our own allies, reminding them why they selected the right side. The Jedi will try sending diplomats of their own, and I want to head them off."

A beeping console caught Soora's attention, and he pressed a button to call up the message. Soora's anger peaked upon reading the script, but somehow he did not give into his rage. He walked out in a fury and disappeared up the stairs to the ground level. Tahiri, Krak, and Urik hurried around to read the message.

-Intercepted Message-

Dear Chief Omas,

Thanks for all the command ships and crews that have defected to join the Jedi coalition. We appreciate you preparing them for war for us.

Yub yub,

Former Alliance General Wedge Antillies

* * *

With the gracefulness only an ace fighter pilot could command, Self-Promoted Admiral Gavin Darklighter's command shuttle landed at the north landing pad of the Fountain Palace, which still bore scorch marks on it from the Mandalorian attack nearly two months earlier. As he departed the shuttle, the Admiral was greeted by a contingent of Hapan guards, Queen Mother Tenel Ka herself, and her royal aide.

"Admiral Darklighter, welcome to Hapes," Tenel Ka said. "Congratulations on your promotion."

"Yeah, thanks," Gavin said, tugging on his collar. "They came with the mutiny."

"Please come this way." The guards split off and Tenel Ka led him to a nearby conference room already occupied by two people. The aide stayed at her side.

"Luke! Mara!" Gavin exclaimed upon meeting the occupants. "I thought you were dead!"

"And I thought you were a Colonel," Luke said with a smile.

"I was, until the mutiny," Gavin said. Everyone took seats at the conference table expecting Gavin to proceed, but he looked at Tenel Ka's aide warily. Tenel Ka caught his gaze quickly.

"Ali is my trusted advisor," Tenel Ka explained. "You may proceed."

"Understood," Gavin said, not entirely reassured depite Ali's weak smile but too tired to care. He shook his head as if to clear his brain and and dove into his story.

"About a year ago I was promoted to personnel distribution among the fleet. Basically they needed someone to manage all the veterans from the war and the new raw cadets to make sure everything balanced out so sections of the fleet weren't overloaded with too much or too little skill. They needed someone with sufficient knowledge of the commanders and military to do this job, and it ended up being me. In other words, Wedge and Tycho turned it down by retiring and I was too young to retire. Just after the attack on Hapes I started hearing about dissent among the ranks. Younger, newer recruits from core planets were complaining about the Jedi while older vets from the Vong war who fought alongside the Jedi were defending them. Before long, commanders were requesting transfers and I had to have a meeting with fleet commanders to figure out personnel problems. During the meeting all the anti-Jedi propaganda started to arise, and all the commanders immediately knew it was faked. Someone suggested a mutiny, but there was too much division among the ranks. The commanders would've been shot in no time if they tried defecting with any significant hardware with all those ambitious newbies buying the propaganda."

"So you re-staffed the command ships with the vets and took off," Mara finished.

"Exactly," Gavin said with a grin. "I had Wedge inspecting a new battlecruiser when the mutiny order came out. He took his segment of the fleet to Belgaroth to defend the shipyards and Thyferra. Tycho _just happened_ to show up in the Fifth Fleet while visting a friend and they went to Mon Calamari, and Kre'fey's in the Corporate Sector. All in all, we've taken over three thousand command ships, a thousand frigate and corvette classes, all the GA's interdictors, and anyone with over five years fleet experience. Our people are so over-qualified we're staffing squadrons with guys who were squad leaders or wing commanders a week ago. Of course, that means that we mostly have a lot of decrepit old men who only live for their ideals and don't have a life outside of the service, but at least we can fight."

"We'll take you," said Luke. "How many ships does that leave the Alliance?"

"About twenty-one thousand, and that's not including anything smaller than a Nebulon Frigate," Gavin said. "But remember, they're all staffed with cadets compared to our guys. I made sure to take the biggest, best maintained ships. One of my friends in Material Sourcing was able to stock up the cargo bays with repair parts, fuel, armaments, and medical supplies. The fleet we took should be able to last at least six months before we'll need to restock anything, and we have about two thousand lastest-generation starfighters more than we have pilots. I also just received word that Sien Sovv is defecting to Bastion with half the Coruscant defense fleet, and Bel Iblis isn't far behind. I requested he head to Manaan, but I don't know if that message got through."

"That should be a serious blow to the Alliance," Mara said approvingly.

"Don't forget they have the Mandalorians now." Jacen entered the meeting wearing new Jedi robes. Rather than the traditional heavy weave design, these were made of silk which fluttered and swished around him, much to his annoyance. Luke and Mara noticed that the exhaustion that appeared to plague their nephew since they had first seen him on Ossus seemed to have entirely disappeared, replaced by an almost visible glow of energeticness.

"Nice robes," Mara smirked at him. "What took so long? Were they milking the spiders?"

"They didn't have the material I wanted." Jacen rolled his eyes. He barely noticed that Ali's eyes seemed to linger on him longer than he expected, mostly because he was distracted by one of Tenel Ka's rare smiles. "Apparently silk is in for Hapan clothing. I almost feel better off in the armour. At least it had temperature control and it didn't feel so, so..."

"Girly?" smirked Gavin.

"Uh... yeah. Hi, Admiral. Welcome to Hapes."

"Thanks, Jacen," Gavin said. "I hadn't forgotten about the Mandalorians. They will likely form the backbone of the Alliance fleet now that we've all left, but our fleet outnumbers theirs by quite a bit."

"I still feel like I'm three steps behind the galaxy," Luke said. "I'd like to get to the Jedi Temple as soon as possible."

"Head to Bastion then," Gavin said. "I'll go with you."

"No," Luke said. "I want you to coordinate the defence of Hapes, Mon Calamari, and the Corporate Sector with Tycho and Traesk. I don't know if the GA is likely to attack anyone right now, but with the Sith backing them they'll be unpredictable. They might go for a surprise attack on a civilian target and claim the Jedi were building a weapon there. Their use of anti-Jedi propaganda is already being bought by the Senate."

"Understood," Gavin stood up and everyone followed suit. "I should get back to the fleet and start dividing things up. Queen Mother, how well defended is the cluster?"

"We have nearly five-hundred capital ships with more in production," Tenel Ka said. "Short of an all-out attack by the Mandalorians, I believe we should be fairly well defended."

"I'll leave another five hundred ships here," Gavin said. "I'd rather know that Hapes will remain a safe haven for us than risk having to carve a foothold out of their hands."

"Thank you," Tenel Ka said.

"We should get going," Luke said. "May the Force be with us all."

* * *

"Jacen?"

Jacen turned around at hearing his name. He waved his aunt and uncle off and re-entered the conference room with Tenel Ka, almost bumping into Ali as they both tried making use of the doorway at the same time. They smiled awkwardly at each other as Ali slipped away quickly and Jacen reactivated the privacy field.

"What's up?" He asked.

"If the Jedi can forge a strong alliance, I would like you to be Hapes' representative when I am unavailable."

"Me?" Jacen asked. "Shouldn't that be one of your own people's responsibilities?"

She stepped forward and kissed him.

"Think of it as training for the future," she said with her arm still around him. "One day you will be the Prince of Hapes."

"Can we go with King?" Jacen asked. "It's good to be king."

"Of course," she laughed warmly. "I will send you some material to read so you can brush up on Hapan politics."

"Thanks," He kissed her back and regretfully broke contact with her. He looked at her with pained eyes that almost appeared fearful. "I have to go."

"I know," she said sadly.

He backed through the door, holding eye contact with her as long as possible, smiled weakly, and finally disappeared.

* * *

During Sekava's fifth or so class back after the attack, Darth Krak made an appearance in the classroom. His size and presence in the Force commanded everyone's attention, swiftly bringing a halt to all activity at hand.

"My students," Lord Krak spoke softly, just loud enough that everyone could still hear him. "We have faced a terrible loss at the hands of Jedi Solo, but we will prevail. To counter this threat, we will be demanding more of you. We will train you harder, push you farther, and prepare you for the battles ahead."

Inspired by his words, the students sat up straighter, looking at him with glares of defiance as if to offer him the opportunity to _try_ to make things difficult.

"Some of you will die," Krak continued. "Others will suffer greatly. But only a handful will achieve greatness."

The large man looked across the room once more, and his eyes finally settled on Sekava.

"Ask yourselves, which will _you_ be?"

Krak tried disappearing as quickly as he had entered, but Sekava ran after him and caught him several metres down the hall.

"Lord Krak!"

The Sith Lord stopped and turned to regard his young charge.

"Sekava, what can I do for you?"

"Teach me," Sekava pleaded. "Show me the ways of the lightsaber. The techniques you use. Teach me to be great."

Krak stared at Sekava long enough that the young man wondered if he would start melting under the gaze. He held the stare, keeping a defiant, proud look on his face.

"Come with me," Krak finally said. "I will teach you some of Vaapad."


	3. 16 Days

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming :D**

**NewMoon, can you please resend me the link you mentioned in the PM? Your PM is disabled so I wasn't able to send you a reply. The server automatically cut out part of the message. You can also email me if you want-I'll enable my email to be seen. As for your questions...they will all be answered in due time. You touched on about three of the 18 or so sub-plots that twist and turn throughout the story, and I really don't want to ruin it for you ;)**

**LightningGemini, just because you said the magic words, I'll post one early this week only. Enjoy :) This is a fairly dry, "planning" chapter, though. I needed it to move the story along to more action sequences, so I may as well let you battle through it now. I learned through writing and trying to make things flow properly, some things need to be planned out to some degree in order for it to make sense. Really sucks, and it is one of the hardest things to write. I promise there will be a little more action in the next day after this. **

**If you haven't noticed, each 'chapter' is one 'day' in the story. That means that some characters aren't in certain days because they are travelling or in a med centre or are doing something both tedious and boring to read and write that does not move the story forward. Unfortunately, 'planning' is one of those tedious and boring things that must be done when you're creating a couple of new governments so they can have legitimate reasons to blow the crap out of each other up later, and 'planning' is largely why it took me about two years to write this 110,000+ word story...I tried to make those tedious and boring parts less boring. I really did try. And I promised myself this is the last time I do a story that has over 29 people to keep track of with any sort of deadline in mind...**

* * *

**16 Days…**

Images of nearly thirty bounty hunters appeared on the displays in the war room before Soora Bulq. Most looked grizzly. Others looked slightly scared. But all carried their weight in determination. For the bounty Soora was offering, any one of them could retire in luxury just for turning in information that led to capturing Jacen Solo. Capturing him would make them _very_ wealthy.

"You are the sorriest group of failures I have _ever_ had the displeasure of hiring," Soora started. "Not one of you has even been close enough to Solo to hint where he could be, and you call yourselves bounty hunters?"

"We've looked everywhere," One bounty hunter spoke up. "There is nothing on him anywhere. It is like he vanished."

"People don't vanish, fool! I suggest you find _him_ before I find _you_!" Soora advised. He terminated the connection and all of the bounty hunters faded away.

"We could lure Solo into a trap." Darth Krak emerged from the shadows with Tahiri. Both could sense the anger rolling off their leader, and wanted to find a way to calm him. "If we use the Mandalorians to plant some information, say about a new power generator, Skywalker may send him."

"Do it," Bulq replied. "Leak the information to the Empire."

"Master, if I may make a suggestion," Tahiri said. "Perhaps your best efforts would be made on Coruscant. You already have political connections, and we need our best voice to persuade the council. Lord Krak and I can stay here to train the new Sith."

"Yes," Soora agreed distractedly. His mind was on other things, but he brought himself back to focus. "Yes, you may be correct. I will depart immediately."

* * *

The Jedi Temple sat in space dock high above Bastion in one of the most secure areas of the galaxy. Twenty Golan IX defence platforms, eighteen Imperial Star Destroyers, two Super Star Destroyers, a hundred and seven support craft, three wings of starfighters, seventeen hundred missile defence platforms, and a massive sphere of space mines protected Bastion and its shipyards on permanent assignment. Nearly a hundred other warships were in the area either for refit, repairs, or shore leave. In the middle of a mass of ships, the shipyards worked night and day on the Jedi Temple to equip it with a secondary reinforced military-grade hull, combat grade shielding, an array of weapons systems and upgraded engines salvaged from an old Star Destroyer. Nearly every one of these ships reflected light from the nearby star, creating the image to a distant observer of a colony of fireflies moving about, if someone had the time and inclination to watch the activity.

While the outside of the Temple was crawling with chaotic activity, the Council chamber hosted an equally-frenetic meeting with the new Jedi Council.

"I'll say it again: this was the worst course of action you could have taken!" Jedi Master Corran Horn shouted across the room. "Why not just take out a holo-ad saying 'The Jedi are guilty, please kill us'?" He spread his hands up above his head as if he was sweeping the face of a newly-designed advertisement.

"They were sending troopers after us!" Kyp Durron shouted back. "What would you have me do? Let ourselves get slaughtered?"

"They had orders to _contain_, not _kill,_" Corran yelled. "We could have handled this diplomatically."

Kyp's chair beeped at him but he slapped whatever alarm off. Jaina looked at him with concern from half way around the circle of chairs between Corran and Kyp, but said nothing.

"Corran iz right," Saba spoke up, glaring at Kyp. "This waz the mozt irrezponzible. But we muzt look past thiz now. Our focuz iz the future. We muzt plan ahead, not look back. Even Pellaeon is threatening to withdrawal his support from the Jedi if we do not sort thiz out!"

A scared looking apprentice chose that moment to open the Council door.

"Out!" Kyp shouted. "I left orders we were not to be disturbed!"

"But Master Durron…!" The apprentice started.

"Out!"

The apprentice scampered away and closed the door.

"In case you haven't noticed," Kyp stood up and looked at each Council member one after another, turning his body in a semi-circle as he spoke. "This Order is falling apart, in no small part due to the Sith! They have manipulated the government into undermining our authority to the point where our very existence was attacked. What I did was…"

"The stupidest thing you could have done." A voice came from the door.

"I said we were not…!" Kyp wheeled around to look at the intruder but he froze as the colour drained from his face.

"Uncle Luke!" Jaina exclaimed.

Luke Skywalker stood at the door with radiance in the Force that made looking at him almost blinding. Surrounding him was half the missing Council members, staring Kyp down.

"M-Master…Master Skywalker," Kyp stuttered. While Kyp and Octa's faces were of stunned disbelief, half the Council smiled and relaxed upon seeing the return of their former leader. "How is this possible? You were dead!"

"I told you he was alive." Jacen Solo stepped to his uncle's side and put a hand on his shoulder. "Though I think it worked out for the best that you thought otherwise."

"You!" Kyp snarled at Jacen.

"He's not the one you have to worry about," Luke snapped, stepping forward. "What have you done to the Jedi? Why did you leave Coruscant? The escape plan was only to be used in the direst of circumstances under the agreement of the _full_ Council!"

"How much more…"

"This Council _clearly_ did not agree with your scheming!" Luke stepped forward and shouted in Kyp's face. Kyp backpedalled instinctively and his eyes went wide with fear. "You have betrayed _everything_ the Jedi have stood for!"

Luke turned and took a step away from Kyp to let the words sink in. He did not have to look at the faces of everyone around him to know the silence of held breaths in the chamber was based in fear. Nobody in the room had seen Luke this angry before. The only people not fooled by his show were Mara and Jacen, who stared at Kyp like angry gargoyles in support. Luke turned and faced Kyp just as he sensed Kyp was about to say something.

"Never again will I allow the hunger for power to taint the Jedi," Luke said with a calm, quiet voice that could be heard at every corner of the chamber like the loudest shout. "Stand down, Master Durron. You don't deserve to lead this Council."

Kyp looked at Luke with a mixture of fear, pain, and shock. It hurt Luke to slap Kyp down so hard, but he knew it was essential to rebuilding the Jedi. He would not allow disobedience and power-lust to destroy the Jedi ever again. Kyp nodded his head and looked to the ground.

"I…I'm sorry, Master," Kyp managed. "I tried my best."

"I know," Luke said. He stepped forward and put a hand on Kyp's shoulder. Kyp looked up at Luke in disbelief. "I hope you learned a valuable lesson here. Leadership is not to be craved. This job is a lot harder than it looks."

"Yes, master," Kyp said sheepishly. "It isn't easy at all."

"Now," Luke said. "How do we fix this mess?"

"Wait," Kyp said. "You're not kicking me out?"

"Why would I?" Luke asked. "After all the goodwill you just destroyed learning your lesson, I'd rather not have someone else burn up the rest making the same mistake."

"Oh, forget that!" Jaina finally jumped up and ran forward, hugging her uncle solidly. "Welcome back!"

He returned the hug with a wide grin.

Other Council members followed Jaina's lead and came forward to welcome him back and Jaina ran to Mara, Lowbacca, and finally Jacen.

"Thank you for bringing them home," Jaina whispered as she hugged him.

"Any time, sis," Jacen whispered back.

* * *

The proud Mandalorians straightened to their full heights, drawing their golden, blue, green and black armour into place with the faint clanks of the metal plates tapping lightly against each other, as if realigning their armour could better defend them against the verbal abuse they knew was coming as the small blond Sith Lord entered the room at a near sprint.

"You failed me," Darth Treulos summarized. "You were to guard the Jedi and _keep_ them in that cell! What part of that did you not understand?"

"We were betrayed and attacked by a Jedi even Master Bulq fears," Lanos said, speaking fearlessly for his team. "We have _no_ defense against the Force when it is used that way. Even _you_ fell to his power."

A lightsaber blade appeared at the warrior's neck, but he did not even flinch. He was too old to be impressed by youthful posturing. If she wanted him dead, it would have happened right after the attack.

"Your words give me reason enough to kill you," she growled at his face, staring up at the towering Mandalorian as if being shorter was a measure of greatness. "But your life is not mine to take. You are no longer my troops."

She deactivated the lightsaber and took several steps away.

"You're being reassigned to the Raxis base," Darth Treulos said. "I'm sure you have never heard of it, as it is as remote as your chances of redemption are. Your people have a base on an unnamed jungle moon that you will protect."

She withdrew a datapad from within her cape and threw a datapad at Parmis, who caught it by reflex.

"You leave tonight. Pray you do a better job than you did here."

* * *

The reformed Jedi Council sat in the Council Chamber nearly at the peak of the Jedi Temple, or the very front now that the Temple floated in space ninety degrees to how it sat on Coruscant. Luke Skywalker was the last to enter and had his his sister in tow. He took a moment to regard the faces of the Jedi who looked back at him when he reached his chair.

Lowbacca sat at Luke's right hand. While being the youngest member of the Jedi Council, the lanky Wookiee had become one of Luke's most trusted advisors and friends in the last five years. He had proven himself both insightful and capable in his roles both as a Counsellor representing non-human Jedi, and as an instructor to Luke's son.

Beside Lowbacca sat Tresina Lobi, the Master of Luke's sister. The tall, level-headed Chev Jedi Master had suffered as many losses as anyone during the Yuuzhan Vong War. While the war had drawn many other Jedi together into a family, Tresina still remained more distant than others. Though quiet by nature, she still provided a loud voice for the Jedi to help the enslaved people of the galaxy. Having come from a background of slavery on Vinsoth herself, she upheld the ideals of the Jedi as the most sacred privilege she could have ever hoped to achieve. Tresina was responsible for organizing the Jedi Order's external political relations personnel, and therefore worked closely with Leia learning about politics.

Tionne Sulstar sat at the first quarter point next to Tresina. She was one of Luke's original students from twenty-three years previous, and represented the Jedi Academy's interests among the Councillors. She also was responsible for the search of new Jedi candidates.

Madurrin, another of Luke's original students, was next. Madurrin was an Anx who had mastered the art of battle meditation. Her four-metre tall stature made her unsuitable for combat in a snubfighter during the Yuuzhan Vong war, but she assisted General Farlander aboard the _Mon Adapyn_ to great success. Luke looked to her for ethical guidance in situations of military usage, a topic of curiosity she had researched among other cultures for many years, and expected her to continue in the extended capacity as a Councillor.

Saba Seybatine, a Barabel trained by Master Eelysa, sat next to Madurrin. Being a powerfully empathic person, she represented the various Force-using cultures the Jedi were friendly with, such as the Jensaarai.

Corran Horn sat opposite to Luke, a Jedi Master with a similar past to Luke's own. His lack of telekinesis and unique path to becoming a Jedi did not sway his steadfast devotion to the Jedi Order in the past ten years. Another of Luke's first class, Corran left to pursue his own path to become a Jedi and rejoin Rogue Squadron before returning to the Jedi Order. His two children, Valin and Jysilla, were also members of the Jedi Order, a fact that, to Corran's enjoyment, irked his father-in-law Booster Terrik. Corran represented the starfighter corps of the Jedi Order in the Council.

Corran had Octa Ramsis on his right, a powerfully built woman from Chandrilla who had sided with Kyp Durron's militant stance since the death of her lover Miko Reglia at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. Octa led the Jedi Intelligence division and reported their findings to the Council.

Kyle Katarn, a Jedi Master who also became a Jedi in his own way, represented the black operations aspect to Jedi activities. His extensive past as a stormtrooper, mercenary and the leader of the Katarn Commandos combined with the fact that he had infiltrated more enemy outposts than half the Council put together made him the perfect candidate to oversee the operations the Jedi would deny any knowledge of if things went badly.

Also from Luke's original class, the peaceful Mon Calamari Cilghal sat beside Kyle, representing the Jedi Healers and the research and development group. Passive and pensive by nature, Cilghal's intelligence and kindness made her a wise addition to the Jedi Council.

The ever-controversial Kyp Durron sat beside Cilghal. Luke left testing Jedi trainees to Kyp to impart some of the knowledge that Kyp had recently learned upon the younger minds of the Jedi Order.

Kenth Hamner, Master Strategist of the Jedi Order, completed the circle of the Council. His extensive work in the rebellion in fleet strategy, tactics, and logistics made his experiences invaluable to the Jedi Order.

Having felt that he had produced a solid team for leading the Jedi Order, Luke used the next hour to catch up on the political and military situation to ensure that he and the entire Council knew the same details.

After an hour of discussing the state of affairs, Pellaeon appeared with two of his aides to meet with the Jedi Council. Given his past experience with Master Durron, the old admiral was expecting a battle when he reached the Temple. To his surprise, Luke himself answered the door and invited Pellaeon in.

"Master Skywalker? I must say it is quite a pleasant surprise to see you!" Pellaeon noticed Kyp Durron poring over an upside-down datapad, avoiding eye contact with the old Admiral. Pellaeon crossed the room and took the seat Lowbacca offered him, settling down slowly as he fought against the pains of his age.

"And you, Admiral," Luke said, taking his own chair. It was his policy to not let Jedi affairs mix with his allies. "What brings you to the Jedi Council?"

"A great many things," Pellaeon said. "But most importantly, we have just discovered some valuable intelligence on the Mandalorians."

He waved to an aide and she came forward with a data cube. A data reader hovered from the floor and she placed the cube on it. Immediately the lights dimmed and the holographic image of a planetoid appeared in the middle of the Council chamber.

"This is an unnamed moon base code-named 'Raxis' that was affected by Vongforming in such a way that it is, with increasing speed, moving away from its sun," Pellaeon said. "Based on the gravetic signatures we have witnessed, we believe the Vong began growing several dovin basals on the surface at the end of the war which have since matured and are now pushing it away from its planet. That is not the most important thing here. What is important to take from this is...well, point it out for me."

Pellaeon's aide smiled at the grandfatherly old man and pointed to an area of the planet that seemed hardly different from the rest of the image, and the image changed to show a blurry image of a grey structure under the dense foliage of the tropical jungle.

"This is a Mandalorian research outpost," He explained. "According to what we have learned, the Mandalorians are building a new, high-output power generator that should be able to equip starfighters with capital ship-level weaponry and shields, but it will be no bigger than the power generator used in current generation X-wings."

"I take it you know where this is?" Luke asked.

"Yes," Pellaeon said, indicating that his other aide should give Luke a datapad. "All the details we have are on there. I feel it is in our best interests to ensure this is handled properly, which is why I brought it to the Jedi."

"You want the planz stolen," Saba said, reading Pellaeon's intentions properly.

"Yes," He replied. "It would be a serious blow for them to lose their new technology, but if we can use it against them, things can only improve for us."

Luke nodded thoughtfully for a moment. "We will take care of this. Thank you, Gilad."

"Of course," Pellaeon said with a smile. "The Jedi have been better to the Empire than Palpatine ever was. Now, I'd like to discuss our government."

"Well," Luke said, slightly wide-eyed. "I don't know what to say. I came out of nowhere and suddenly there is a federation being formed for the Jedi against the Sith. Everyone is looking to me to create this new alliance, and I hardly know why it is forming."

"I think I can help there, Luke," Pellaeon laughed. "I created it. As I watched the GA deteriorate, I started communications with the Hapans, the Corporate Sector, and even the Chiss. Anyone who voiced displeasure about the tactics of the Mandalorians, the way things were going in the senate, and sided with the Jedi during the resource scares over the last few years had one of my envoys visit their governments. The Chiss listened politely, as they always do, but nearly everyone else has jumped aboard. We need leadership, and everyone agrees; we want the Jedi Council leading us. Now that you're back, that just sweetens the deal for us."

"What about yourself?" Luke asked, but he already knew the answer. "You know the Jedi must shy away from power. You are as capable as anyone to run this."

"Don't kid yourself, Luke," He replied. "I'm getting too old to lead a new government. That's something for the young, like yourself, to be doing. We just have one provision."

"We?" Luke asked.

"Your new allies," Pellaeon reminded him politely. "We want stability. We all saw the events on Coruscant, and we know the Jedi are operating with borderline rogue behaviour. Your first order of business is to create a command team, including a replacement for yourself. We want a clear chain of succession, not a repeat of this power struggle we saw. A secondary leader for the Jedi to follow if something happens to you again."

"We can certainly do that," Luke said, seeing nods of approval from his Council members. "And I guess it would be foolish for me to have anyone else as Supreme Commander of our fleet. Gavin, Wedge, and Tycho have mutinied off a few thousand capital ships and many good officers. I'll leave them in your care then?"

"If only my doctor was as accommodating as you are," Pellaeon said with a chuckle, pulling himself to his feet with Lowbacca's assistance. He brushed non-existent creases out of his impeccable white Admiral tunic purely by habit and stepped forward to put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "I'll take good care of them, Master Skywalker. If you can get your house in order, you will have yourself an admiral."

* * *

Luke finally found the time to inspect the Jedi Temple after several meetings with Jedi, Gavin, Pellaeon, and some other key people in their newfound rebellion. Pellaeon walked with Luke on the tour, not having been allowed to tour the Temple under Kyp's regime, and limped along with a cane to aid him. Nearly seven years ago he had been severely injured during a battle with the Yuuzhan Vong and he was still feeling the effects of those injuries on his aging body. His cane made a pleasant click with each step as he limped along at Luke's side, and Luke had to walk much slower than the Jedi felt justified given the state of affairs in the galaxy.

"Mighty fine construction here, Luke," Pellaeon commented, examining the frames of the transparisteel windows. "Not many ships this size are designed for multiple atmospheric entries and exits. Buildings are another thing entirely!"

"I was hoping that feature wouldn't have been tested in my lifetime," Luke said sourly. His disappointed eyes fell on the armoured plates that were being installed to protect the windows in the case of battle and the work crew in pressure suits floating purposely in the vacuum working long hours to prepare the Temple.

"The funny thing about these things you don't intend to use is," Pellaeon said thoughtfully. "You never think you'll use them until they're complete."

"The Empire has come a long way since Palpatine, Gilad." Luke clapped a hand on Pellaeon's shoulder. "I'm sure he would be cursing us if he knew the Empire was the Jedi's strongest ally."

"Very likely," Pellaeon admitted. "I think we have learned our lesson dealing with the Sith. But this is no time for nostalgia, Luke. We need to discuss politics."

"I barely know why this is happening, much less what to do with it." Luke sighed. "Where are we?"

"Essentially we have the clusters, and they have everyone else," Pellaeon summarised. "Corellia was supporting us until Thrackan's daughter went missing and he started mopping up public support with a sympathy plea."

"What happened to his daughter?" Luke asked. "The rumour I heard is that she was captured by Jedi."

"Our best information places it as a Sith ploy, but we have nothing we can prove it with. We didn't take her, and Tenel Ka denies all knowledge of it."

"We're already three steps behind them," Luke sighed again.

"Young Darklighter seems to have put leash on them for the moment," Pellaeon said. "The loss of Super Star Destroyers aside, his mutiny has given us the best and the brightest among their fleet. If that isn't a rallying call for planetary support, I don't know what is. Our reports indicate they are in mass disarray trying to sort out the mess he left them. Apparently some lieutenants received promotions to the Admiralty in his last day."

"Some will say this is the perfect time to counterattack," Luke said. "But that is hardly Jedi policy. If our allies want leadership from the Jedi, they have to be willing to conduct themselves as Jedi."

"Not many military commanders see things quite the way you do, Luke." Pellaeon warned gently. "The Jedi are known for their unique morality."

Luke stared out the window for a few moments.

"How do we proceed?" Luke asked.

"I would suggest talking," Gilad responded.

"You're right," Luke said. "We should call the leaders of people who support us together and ask them what they need and what they can provide."

"I was thinking more like talking to your sister," Gilad chuckled. "She did run at least one government I know about."

"Right." Luke laughed at himself. _You're not the only person who can do stuff, Skywalker!_ "I'll talk to her when she gets back. Apparently Han decided for her it was to leave the Jedi Order once Kyp took over, claiming the need for a vacation."

"He's not the only one who thought of doing that," Pellaeon said knowledgably.

Luke and Pellaeon walked along for a few moments before either spoke.

"What do you plan on doing with this tub?" Pellaeon finally asked, tapping his cane on the floor in a way that reminded Luke of another wise old person from his past. "Combat readiness aside, you have a lot of kids in here. I wouldn't want to commit them to battle."

"We'll find a quiet corner of the galaxy to put it," Luke assured him. "Location will ensure safety more than the weaponry could."

"I suggest a decoy," Pellaeon added. "A sweetroot we can dangle in front of the Sith's noses and blow up so they don't look for the real thing."

"Can you build it?" Luke asked, sceptical about the cost and effort that would be needed to build a second temple. He had recently learned that, aside from some reserves kept on the temple, the Jedi's funds were seized by the GA. "I wouldn't want to impose..."

"No imposition," Pellaeon dismissed Luke's worries with a wave of his hand like a pesky insect. "The Empire's defence will depend on the Jedi as much as anyone. We'd be happy to help. The more off balance we make the Sith, the better it is for all of us."

Luke was about to respond when a glimmer in the Force distracted him. The hallway door opened up to reveal Leia Organa Solo.

"Luke!" She exclaimed and ran to meet his hug. "I knew you weren't dead!"

"I had started to wonder about that," Luke responded under his sister's choking hug. "About if I was alive or not, that is."

She finally let go of him and Han grabbed Luke's hand.

"You look pretty lively for a dead guy," Han said around his lopsided grin.

"Nice to see you, too, Han," Luke grinned. "I thought you wouldn't be here for another four hours."

"Can't be too careful on unsecured communications these days," Han said slyly. "You were in the Rebellion at one time, kid. You know how it is."

"I guess I lost my decoder ring," Luke said.

"Welcome back, Leia and Han," Pellaeon said, interrupting their reunion. "If you will excuse me, I'll leave you to your family."

"No, please stay," Luke insisted. "We should discuss the alliance. I think my office isn't far from here."

Half an hour and four turboshaft trips later, Luke finally found his office at almost the other end of the Temple.

"Tell me again why you thought your office was near the hanger bay?" Han asked.

Luke ignored him and offered his guests seats and drinks.

"Leia," Luke addressed his sister. "Pellaeon tells me that there is a growing movement opposing the Galactic Alliance's changes in policy, and that the dissenters want the Jedi to lead them."

"No," Leia said.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not your escape pod," Leia explained. "I'm done with administrative politics. If you want someone to lead it, do it yourself or find someone on your own. I have enough gray hair."

"It's my turn, anyway," Han said with his broadest grin. "You want your leader? You got me."

"Forgive me for saying so, young Solo," Pellaeon said. "But I do not believe the day where we are quite that desperate has arrived for us. I think we should determine how to structure this alliance. Our allies are scattered across the galaxy leaving us with very wide defensive front that will make moving assets very difficult. Our enemy, however, has the benefit of the core worlds as their power base, which are much closer together. Also, any of our allies in the core will effectively be cut off from our aid."

"For this reason alone, it will be difficult to convince planets to support us," Leia said. "We need to prove to them we can protect those that need to be protected, and the only way to do that is by having ships everywhere."

"This feels like the Vong war all over again," Luke commented. "We can't protect everyone, and we can't keep everyone happy by consolidating our fleets. We need to determine who needs to be protected and allocate the fleet accordingly. So far we have..."

"Wait," Han said. "I'm not exactly sure what you guys have concocted while we were on vacation, but I don't think you do know what you have. You need to get people together. Call an assembly of allies to get leaders and work together."

"Someone learned his lesson in the Rebellion," Leia said with mock surprise. "He's right though. We need to get all the major players together. Admiral, who is on your list?"

"The Hapes Cluster, Bespin, Manaan, Thyferra, the Chiss, the Mon Calimari, Belgaroth, Adumar, Kashyyyk, the Corporate Sector," Pellaeon listed. "There are more, but I think those would be the most tactically important to start with. I was also contacted by Aidel Saxan of Corellia. She believes she can find support for us, but Thrackan's political leverage is proving too great right now. She suspects this whole situation with his daughter is political subterfuge with Sith undertones."

"I'll shoot him myself if you give me the chance," Han growled. "I don't know why anyone would follow that lunatic."

"Sympathy votes are surprisingly helpful," Leia said wryly. "We should arrange for representatives from each group to meet with us. I know Wedge and Gavin will want to attend as well."

"I will arrange meetings through my contacts," Pellaeon promised. "Few will want to come this way in person, so I will ensure we have secure communications."

"Thank you, Gilad," Luke said. "Set the meeting for tomorrow evening. I'll make sure the Jedi are prepared for it."

* * *

The ship given to Sekava, the _Radiant Nova_, slipped into hyperspace at the command of her pilot, stretching starts from pins of light into streaks, and creating the mottled blue and black tunnel of hyperspace travel with ease. Sekava's destination was a planet on the edges of Imperial space that was home to a research centre. The datapad given to him by Darth Krak contained the details on the target, as well as mission particulars. Sekava had believed that the lessons learned from Darth Krak on Vaapad would serve him well in this assignment, but upon reading the datapad he quickly discovered that stealth was the desired method of operation.

_He is making you weak,_ one of the voices whispered to Sekava. _Your power is great. Use it. Destroy everyone on the base._

"The mission calls for stealth," Sekava replied. "There is only one target."

_All Imperials are enemies of the Sith,_ the voice hissed. _Your masters know you know this. They are testing you for _initiative_._

After a long, meaningful discussion with the voice, Sekava came to know the truth. All of the Imperials must be destroyed. It was the only thing that made sense.


	4. 15 Days

**AN: This one's a bit early because I'm going to be busy tonight and tomorrow. Thanks for the reviews; keep 'em coming :)**

* * *

**15 Days...**

With Bastion's star peeking over the edge of the planet's surface to wash the Jedi Temple with early morning light, Luke Skywalker called a meeting with the Jedi Council to address some thoughts he and Leia had put together the night before. They waited in Luke's office until they received confirmation that everyone had arrived before entering the Council Chamber.

"Thank you all for meeting on such short notice," Luke said, taking his chair just as the distant sun started to illuminate it. "I fear we may have many of these meetings given the state of the galaxy. I have asked Leia to join us to help us evaluate and establish a strategy on the political situation, but first I'd like to address the issue Pellaeon brought to our attention regarding the Mandalorian power generator."

"Kenth, Octa, and I have gone over the preliminary data provided to us," Corran said. "It appears the base is defended by a fleet in orbit, about thirty Mandalorians on the ground, and seven Sith Lords. We believe an all-out attack from orbit will require more resources than we can commit, and one of stealth would be better suited to this mission. We have already drafted plans for such a mission, with _some_ differences of opinion on how to proceed." Corran glanced at Octa meaningfully, but the woman did not return the glare.

"What does that mean?" Luke asked.

"I believe we should destroy the base entirely," Octa said. "A seismic charge should be enough to destroy the facility and any research."

"And I agree with Pellaeon that it is best to find out if there are any data or prototypes we can use ourselves," Corran interjected. "A military strength for us would be much more valuable than simply destroying what could be one of many facilities working on this project. We need to collect data on this project as much as we need to end it."

"Agreed," Luke said. "I think we should hold Octa's idea in reserve, though. If the data proves unattainable, destroying it would be preferable. Are there any objections?"

Madurrin raised a hand and cleared her throat. "I do not believe it appropriate to use a seismic charge on a moon with sentient beings being targeted," She said. "This is not a Jedi way of performing this mission! There is also wildlife on that moon which would be destroyed if these charges are used. Should we not be worried about collateral damage?"

"The whole moon is traveling away from the star," Kenth said reasonably. "In a matter of days, everything will be frozen solid. Either they go in the blast, or they freeze to death. There's no way we can relocate an entire moon's worth of wildlife, especially with that fleet guarding it. I think we can all agree that we have more pressing concerns at this point in time."

The Jedi sat in silence for a few moments before Luke repeated his request. "Any other objections or thoughts?"

There being none, a quick vote moved in favour of the mission as modified by Luke.

"Next, who do we send?"

"Sounds like a Katarn and Korr thing to me," Kenth Hamner said, looking at Kyle from across the circle. "You two certainly have the background for this. Maybe we can get the Wraiths to join you as well."

"What about Jedi Organa Solo, Han, and Master Tresina?" Kyle asked. "Their skills would be more than adequate. I have more students to train…"

"Leia will be otherwise occupied," Luke interrupted, glancing up at his sister who stood beside him. "Her diplomatic skills are needed more than this mission requires any of her other skills."

"The Solo twins can do it," Octa piped up, earning a flash of annoyance from Leia. "Jaina is an adequate enough pilot to fly through the fleet, and Jacen has some experience with the Mandos. That partner of his is fairly decent in a fight, too."

"Any other suggestions?" Luke asked. "All in favour of Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr?"

Four members raised their hands.

"Jaina and Jacen?"

The remaining seven raised their hands, led by Kyle whose hand shot up like a blaster bolt. Luke did not place a vote, mostly because Leia had given him a sharp glare about putting her kids in danger again, and he also decided it was not his place to order family into dangerous situations.

"I will brief them myself on the mission," Luke said, accessing some files and downloading them to his datapad. "Now, Leia, can you please give us an overview of the political situation?"

_We'll talk about this later, _Leia thought at him. To the group she said, "Yes, of course.

"As you all know, the galaxy is quickly becoming polarized, with one side supporting the Jedi, and the other side supporting the Mandalorian Nation. It seems that we alone know of the Sith involvement, so the majority of the sentients in the galaxy believe they are following Cal Omas as he makes a deal in their best interest with the Mandalorians.

"Admiral Pellaeon has created the foundation for our new alliance, and from here we must built the rest ourselves. In this meeting, you should be developing a plan of action and goals you expect to guide your leadership of the coalition."

"Leia," Tresina spoke first. "Perhaps we should be establishing a plan to get _out_ of leadership. This is no place for the Jedi. We were never intended as a ruling body. We should establish goals we expect to achieve which will remove the Jedi from power, such as the removal of the Sith and the establishment of a fair government."

"I think you've said it all right there, Tresina," Corran said. "Once the Sith are gone, we're done being the galaxy's babysitters."

"That was the goal of the Rebel Alliance," Leia reminded him. "But the Republic wasn't established for almost seven years after Palpatine died. You may be called upon to facilitate more battles than just eliminating the heads of this. I say you operate until you find the earliest opportunity to hand off leadership in such a way that a two-thirds majority of you feel comfortable with it."

A general murmuring of agreement and a lack of objections made that suggestion the first law of the Jedi coalition.

"Next, you need to establish policy," Leia continued. "When diplomacy or military strength should be used over the other. Processes of law and governance; Division of military assets; Who will be the overall leader; What sort of military action would be considered acceptable or unacceptable…"

"Why don't we establish a policy writing committee to handle all this?" Tresina asked. "Then we can decide on what we like and what we don't like, and modify it from a template? We certainly do not know enough on our own, and it must be written as well."

"Good idea," Luke said. "Tresina, Lowie, Kenth, Madurrin, and Tionne will see to that and we will address it at our next meeting. Leia will assist as she can, but she will have other duties to attend to. My next question is how we address our partners. Pellaeon has set up a meeting for us, and I would like to explain to them how we will be conducting this alliance, if they do in fact want us as their leaders."

"What do you have in mind?" Saba asked.

"I believe it best to tell them that our rules are paramount," Luke said. "We will not condone attacks on civilians. We will not attack when not threatened, and we will use diplomacy whenever possible."

Several Jedi sat up straighter, but it was Kyp who spoke.

"That would severely cripple our ability to be effective," Kyp argued, finally breaking his bout of silence. "How can we hope to stop them if they will be attacking us relentlessly while we're sitting on our high horses not counter-attacking?"

"He never said we wouldn't be counter-attacking or planning attacks," Leia replied. "What he means is that attacks will not be made on targets to cripple their war efforts if it means killing civilians. This is a move in diplomacy. If the Sith want to destroy our shipyards, we'll broadcast holonet recordings of them slaughtering our people, and they won't have any way to justify it. They can make up fake footage, but the truth can be found out eventually. This is a long-term strategy that may help us more than any battles could."

"She's right," Kenth agreed. "And if they do make up false stories about us attacking civilian targets, we can always attack the targets ourselves to make them look bad. Why would we attack the same target twice? If we start broadcasting footage of our battles showing apparently destroyed shipyards fully operational, their lies would unravel around themselves."

"Well when you put it that way…" Kyp said, realizing he was becoming overwhelmed by the complexities of politics. With a hint of humility, he found he no longer envied Luke. "It makes sense to me."

[There's also the danger that nobody will believe _anybody_,] Lowie growled. [However, the beings who know will remember and will come to value our methodology.]

"If nobody objects?" Luke asked. "We can have our Policy Team write up a more formalized version of this for us to discuss later."

"Finally, we need to establish everyone's place in the alliance," Leia said. "We need to tell them who will control military assets, what we will allow them to retain, and what we expect in return. Some planets, such as Thyferra and Manaan, can exchange medical supplies for protection, and others like Bilbringi will provide ships. We will also need troops, workers, fleet personnel…"

Several hours later, the meeting concluded with a rough set of guidelines for how the Jedi Federation would operate. The Jedi slowly filtered out of the room until finally only Luke and Leia were left.

"Leia, I need you and Mara to perform a mission for me," Luke said, handing her a datachip that had sat on the table for the entire meeting untouched. "Pellaeon has tried to draw the Chiss into our side of this conflict, but has not succeeded. I'd like you to pick up where he left off."

"Are you joking?" Leia asked. "This is what you planned for me? You of all people know how difficult it was to get the Chiss to join the Vong war. This one doesn't even directly affect them."

"Not yet," Luke replied. "But eventually it will. Palpatine went after the Chiss. There's no reason to assume Soora won't as well.

"I do know how hard it was to get the Chiss to join us – and that's exactly why I'm sending you. There is nobody better than you to talk them into joining us, and nobody who knows the Chiss better than Mara. Danni Quee will also be joining you since she was on the last mission to Csilla."

"What about Han?"

"I have need of him elsewhere," Luke said elusively. Sensing her objection, Luke interrupted. "The only thing Han hates more than the Chiss are diplomatic missions. I have a dozen other things that need to be done that he would be better at than following you around on a diplomatic mission. I'm sorry Leia, but you of all people should know how much I have on my mind right now. Han will do more harm to our relations with the Chiss than anything, and I need him to do something only a handful of people are qualified to do."

"Of course," Leia said, grudgingly accepting her brother's decision. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," Luke replied. "Tomorrow, everything starts."

* * *

Jacen and Jaina stood on an observation deck of the Jedi Temple, staring down at Bastion while discussing the events of the last month. This same deck had been an open air balcony overlooking the senate building on Coruscant before the Jedi Temple evacuated, and now it was enclosed against the vacuum of space by transparisteel plates that locked into position as part of the pre take-off procedure. The twins were engrossed in watching a storm cloud in its gradual spin as it traveled slowly across the blue and green orb below when their uncle came and leaned against the handrail beside Jacen. It startled him to notice how much Jacen was drawing on the Force while appearing to be doing nothing, but he chose to ignore it.

"Nice view," He commented instead.

"Too bad it won't last," Jaina replied. "These retractable transpairsteel plates will be replaced with durasteel armour during the refit."

"We could always come out here with space suits and retract the plating," Jacen said.

"True," Jaina admitted. "What's up, Uncle Luke?"

"I just came from a meeting with the Jedi Council," Luke said. "We finally have our gameplan sorted out for how we're approaching the new alliance, and we've decided that you two are going on a mission to acquire the plans for a new Mandalorian power generator."

"Really?" Jacen asked. "Why us?"

"Your experience with the Mandalorians and Sith make you ideal for this mission," Luke said. "We're equipping the _Solo Quest_ with one of the Mandalorian cloaking generators that Tahiri was able to provide Lowbacca with. He's installing it now with Eriana."

"Why is it every time I think the ship is mine," Jacen asked his sister with a trace of sarcasm. "Someone decides otherwise?"

She slapped his arm. "You're getting a cloaking generator. Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am."

Luke smiled and handed Jacen a datapad.

"Here are your official orders," Luke said. "In summary, take your team and Jaina's apprentices to the indicated location, sneak into the base, slice the plans out of the datacore, and blow it up. We don't want to leave anything behind for them to rebuild this technology off. We are loading survival equipment onto your ship now for jungle conditions, and near-spacelike conditions. Based on the rapidly decaying orbit of the moon, we don't know what you'll be experiencing."

"What about explosives?" Jacen asked, quickly skimming the datapad.

"One Void-8 ought to do it," Luke replied, drawing glares of disbelief from his niece and nephew. "We're providing you with two."

"A _Void-8_?" Jaina exclaimed. "You want us to use a _seismic charge _on a _planet_?"

"This technology is too dangerous to have any trace of it left behind," Luke said. "We did not come to this decision lightly."

"But the ecological damage..."

"Won't matter," Jacen interrupted his sister.

"What?" She demanded. "A Void-8 will shatter that planet..."

"Moon," Jacen corrected. "And that won't really matter. The decaying orbit will result in everything on the moon freezing solid within a week anyway, so it's a matter of dead now or dead later. Though there is the issue of vaporizing the people on the planet who might otherwise escape."

"Yes," Luke agreed. "Any scientists will have too much knowledge of the project to be left lying around. Unless you want to kidnap a couple dozen scientists and smuggle them out under the Sith's noses, we don't really see another way to handle this situation."

"I trust we have the latitude to find alternative solutions?" Jacen asked.

"So long as the mission objectives are completed, yes," Luke confirmed. "We'll still provide the seismic charges, though."

"Thank you," Jacen said. "We'll leave once the _Quest_ is ready."

"Two more things," Luke said to Jacen. "First, while the ship is yours, Jaina will be in command of the mission. Before you object, she does outrank you both as a Jedi and a member of the military."

Jacen glanced at his sister, and then handed her the datapad. "Fair enough, so long as she doesn't try redecorating my ship."

"Jaina," Luke turned to his niece and handed her a small box, "Wedge has asked me to inform you that you've been reactivated by the military - congratulations, Colonel Solo. Please give a Lowbacca a hand configuring the systems as soon as you have yourself ready. Corran is gathering your apprentices and briefing them on the mission."

"Thanks, Uncle Luke," Jaina hugged her uncle and took the box from him. "Or is it General Skywalker?"

"I haven't been reactivated," Luke said. "Wedge has other ideas for me."

"I'd better get going then," Jaina said and escaped out the door.

"I'll see you in a few days," She called over her shoulder, already disappeared down the hallway.

Luke stared his nephew in the eye until after the door closed. He walked over to the railing and leaned against it heavily.

"I never got the chance to thank you for rescuing us," Luke said. He saw the corner of the storm his niece and nephew were watching earlier fade into the distance as the shipyard carried the Temple in a slow orbit opposite the rotation of the planet and watched it for a few moments before continuing. "It must not have been easy to be among the Mandalorians like that."

Jacen leaned against the railing beside his uncle with his back towards the planet below. Luke felt more of the Force around him being drawn to his nephew, again for no apparent reason except to gather strength.

"Nothing I've done could have prepared me for that," Jacen admitted. "We've always looked at our enemies as faceless barbarians that need to be stopped. Even though I lived with the Yuuzhan Vong for a year and learned to see them as people, manipulated and deceived people, granted, I still have difficulties seeing enemies as potential friends."

He looked over at his uncle, who was already looking at him. "I really started to enjoy being with them. Blade, for all her rough exterior was a loyal friend. Squeak was almost innocent in comparison to everyone else – hardly the gruff Mandalorian we all expect to be behind the armour. Lanos and Parmis had an uncanny ability to inspire their people as well as anyone I've ever met. And Trigger." He stopped and laughed. "It was hard not to like him despite his crude behaviour. It almost felt like I could fit in there, like I found another place I could call home."

"That's how it felt when we started working with the Empire," Luke admitted. He turned and sat on the railing, facing the same direction as Jacen, but not looking at him. "Pellaeon was as honest and practical as they came. We always saw him and his kin as enemies, but now he's our strongest ally. Maybe, one day, the Mandalorians will abandon the Sith."

"There's a lot of bitterness in the ranks," Jacen cautioned. "They hate the Jedi. They've been bred to hate us since the days of Nomi Sunrider and Exar Kun. In some circles, 'Jedi' is among the foulest of insults. It'll be a hard nut to crack."

Both men sat silently for a few moments, lost in their thoughts. They looked up at the same time as Mara Jade entered the observation deck. Jacen could immediately sense some unease shared between his aunt and uncle.

"What's up?" Jacen asked warily.

"We have some questions for you," Mara said, not trying to hide what Jacen sensed.

"I wore a jumpsuit under the armour. Honest."

Mara and Luke exchanged unamused glances.

"How do you know all those lightsaber forms?" Mara asked.

Jacen sighed.

"Any other questions?" Jacen left little doubt in his tone that he sensed more questions floating between them. His greatest fear was that his uncle would discover the training he had with Jedi Masters Yoda, Kenobi, Skywalker, Windu, and Jinn. Yoda had expressly forbidden Jacen from ever revealing their existence to any Jedi, especially his uncle.

"You referred to our apprentices as 'Padawans' one time," Luke said. "A lot of your knowledge of the Jedi, both historical and training, comes from stuff that nobody but an Old Jedi could have known. We're curious to know how you could have learned this when I thought I had recovered the last of the Jedi artifacts."

"You've been in contact with dead Jedi, haven't you?" Mara blurted out, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well," Jacen said, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I have been."

"Which ones?" Luke exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Quite a few," Jacen admitted. "Come with me; it's about time I showed you anyway."

Without waiting, he walked to the door and opened it. His aunt and uncle followed him to the nearest turbolift. Just as they entered, three chatty younglings ran in, making conversation impossible. After an uncomfortable, quiet ride down several floors to the main docking bay, they left the younglings behind and walked to the _Solo Quest._ Jaina had just arrived with a satchel across her shoulder and was talking loudly with Lowbacca about the interface problems with the cloaking generator. Jacen ignored them and walked up the boarding ramp, down the corridor, and triggered the door lock to his personal quarters. All three entered, and he closed the door behind them.

"You never saw this," Jacen said with an abundance of importance in his words. He rolled back a carpet and used the Force to trigger some hidden releases under the deck plating. A perfectly hidden panel popped up and floated away under Jacen's command, and a second panel was revealed. He put his palms on two yellow sensor pads until they turned green, and he reached into the Force again. A moment later another green light activated and the panel hinged open from the middle to reveal…

"Holocrons!" Luke exclaimed. "You've been using holocrons!"

"Yes," Jacen said with a small smile. He could almost hear Vergere complimenting him on using one truth to hide another truth.

He carefully extracted a transparisteel shelf containing seven holocrons and placed it on his desk. Four were pyramid shaped, one was cube shaped, one appeared to have a red giant crystal shoved into a spiky orange sphere, and the last one was golden coloured, twelve sided, and located in the middle with the others circled around it. Once carefully set on his desk, he removed the large twelve sided holocron and held it tenderly in both hands.

"This was once known as the 'Great Holocron,'" Jacen said reverently. "It was built by Nomi Sunrider herself, and has been the centrepiece of the Jedi Archives for thousands of years. There is so much information in it that it was said not even Yoda himself could digest it all."

"What kind of information?" Mara asked in awe.

"Everything," Jacen said meaningfully. "Lightsaber forms, philosophies, mission reports, battle tactics, prophecies…you name it, it's in there. It even has detailed reports from every Jedi field agent involved in the Clone Wars, including some very interesting stories about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker."

He held the cube out to his uncle.

"It belongs to the Jedi, not me," He said. "It has served me well, but this much knowledge is not meant to be restricted to one person. Please, take it."

Luke regarded his nephew for a moment, and then took the holocron. He could feel the presence of the holocron in the Force as it reached out to embrace him like a warm blanket around his shoulders.

"Thank you," Luke said, completely astonished by the rare gift. "What are the other ones?"

"Four of them are Sith holocrons," Jacen looked back at the shelf. He pointed to the one that looked like a large gem shoved into an exotic fruit. "That one contains the notes of at least nine Sith Lords, including Palpatine and Naga Sadow."

He ignored the looks of stunned disbelief on his aunt and uncle's faces at the casual mention he made of the holocron, and pointed at three of the pyramid shaped ones in turn.

"Bane's, Freedon Nadd's, and Sidious' personal one," Jacen said. "The other two belong to Jedi."

"Which Jedi?" Mara asked.

"Quinlan Vos," Jacen pointed at the last pyramid design, then to the cube. "And me."

"You _made_ a holocron?" Mara asked.

"Yeah, Bane explained it," Jacen said with a smirk. "I don't think he quite expected a Jedi to ever trick a Sith Holocron into divulging its secrets, much less use his teachings. I'm not done it yet, but I have a lot done. For the most part I've used it as a diary over the last five years and to chronicle the Yuuzhan Vong war. That's about as far back as I've gone."

"I don't know if I like the idea of any one person having all these Sith holocrons in one place," Luke said, eying them suspiciously.

"Tough," Jacen said. "I'm not giving them up. I can't risk them falling into the wrong hands."

"Considering your ship is going into Sith territory…"

"_Not_," Jacen interrupted with an air of finality. "Giving them up."

At that moment the door chimed, and Jacen quickly put the holocrons back in their hiding place.

"The door won't open if this panel is out," Jacen explained as he replaced the two panels and reengaged the locks. The person on the other side of the door gave up on the comm and started knocking. He pushed the carpet back in place, and finally released the door to reveal Jaina's face.

"Hey," She said, confused at the presence of Mara and Luke in Jacen's room, and her uncle apparently hiding something behind his back. "The cloaking generator is all set to go and all our equipment is stowed. Apparently it was Womprat reversing the polarity of the power conduits because we didn't ask him about installing the generator first."

"Excellent," Luke said. "We'll be out in a minute."

"Sure. I'll be in the cockpit doing the preflight if you need me."

Luke turned back to Jacen once the door closed.

"We'll discuss this when you're back," He said sternly.

"There is no discussion," Jacen said. "I'm keeping them. End of story."

"At least give me a reason why," Luke said. "If the Council finds out I knew about this…"

"Tahiri said there's a spy among the Jedi," Jacen said, thinking quickly. Yoda was adamant about protecting the Sith holocrons from Soora's new Sith, to the point of threatening to destroy them. He did not want Soora's Dark Jedi to become real Sith equipped with the sorcery of Sith magic – something of which they largely lacked knowledge. "If the holocrons stay with me, there is no chance they'll be discovered by a mole. We can't let Soora learn Sith magic. He's already too much of a threat without it. We can't let them become _real_ Sith! Keeping them here, somewhere that would take dismantling the entire ship to find, is the safest option. Nobody would ever expect me to be keeping holocrons around, and this box is lined with baradium on the inside. If anyone except Eriana or myself opens it, the whole thing will explode and take more than just this ship with it. Trying to cut it open with a fusion cutter or a lightsaber would also be a rather fatal mistake."

"He has a point," Mara admitted with obvious disappointment. "Nobody would expect holocrons to be carelessly locked up in a ship. They'd expect them to be on a planet under serious guard."

"We'll discuss this later," Luke insisted. "But for now, keep them safe."

"And you keep that one safe," Jacen said. "That one's more important than the others combined."

* * *

With the _Radiant Nova_ hidden beyond the outskirts of the town, Sekava used the speeder bike his ship had been equipped with to reach his destination. The town looked like any he had been in during his days as a scamp traveling from nowhere to anywhere, but for once he was apprehensive. It had been months since he had gone into a strange place, and the apprehensiveness he felt joining the Sith came back to haunt him as he moved away from the training community.

_You're such an idiot,_ the voice told him. _Get your butt in there and get your job done. What are you, a Jedi?_

The mental prodding did its job. He left his bike at a street corner and walked toward a group of people talking and laughing on the street. Without warning, he pulled his lightsaber out and slammed the hilt against a young woman's back, igniting the blade. Before her friends could even scream, he grabbed a young man by the hair with his other hand.

"Where is the Imperial research facility?" he demanded.

"Wha-?" The young man's shock was ended with a devastating telekinetic shove that left him half-embedded in a wall across the street.

"Where is the research facility?" Sekava screamed at the others, who took to running away from this new murderous thug.

_That won't do,_ The voice told him.

Sekava raised a hand and the remaining four youths came soaring back toward him, skidding and bouncing across the ground until they settled a metre in front of him.

"I asked you a _question_," Sekava growled. One of the youths pointed up the street, too terrified to speak. The young Sith followed the finger to a large white building with the Imperial logo on it, sporting the name _Research Facility Delta_.

Without regard for the youths sprawled across the ground around him, he walked over them toward his destination. His lightsaber may or may not have been drawn across the kids as he walked over them.

But what would it matter if it did?

* * *

The Jedi Council assembled five minutes earlier than expected at the insistence of Luke. When they were all assembled, Luke passed an object to Kenth on his right. In complete silence, each person examined it and passed it to the one on their right until it finally came back to Luke.

"I'm sure you all know what this object is," Luke said with a gravelly voice. "But the contents are not what you would expect. It contains the complete history of the Jedi Order dating back to Nomi Sunrider and up until shortly before Order-66. Mission reports, training regiments, philosophy, and even journal entries from every Jedi for over a thousand years."

"How?" Tionne gasped.

"Jacen found it," Luke replied. "I have no idea where, but he gave it to me – to the Order. Tionne, I would like you to care for it until further notice. We will work together to examine it at a later date."

Luke handed it back around the circle until Tionne held it gently in her hands. After looking at it in new found awe, she placed it into her shoulder bag and returned as much of her attention back to Luke as she could pry away from the holocron.

"As you all know, we'll be meeting with the members of our new rebellion," Luke addressed everyone again. "Leia and Pellaeon will be joining us, however everyone else will be tuning in via holo."

Luke gestured to the door, opening it with the Force, to allow Pellaeon and Leia to enter. They took the added seats in the Council room and waited for the various diplomats to tune in on the secured transmissions.

"Welcome, everyone," Luke started once the representatives had appeared. "Thank you all for joining us. I would like to start by making some introductions. Firstly, I believe you all know Kenth Hamner." Luke gestured to the tall man who stood beside him.

"Kenth has willingly taken on the duties of the newly created role of Deputy Grand Master of the Jedi Order. In the event something was to happen to me, Kenth will assume my duties as the leader of the Jedi Council. Additionally, our leader of the Jedi Academy, Kam Sulstor has agreed to be third in succession.

"What we hope to establish in this meeting is our bid to lead the rebellion against the former Galactic Alliance, which has been hijacked by the Mandalorians."

[Master Skywalker,] The Wookiee avatar chimed in. [We of Kashyyyk were under the impression the Jedi were already leading us. Are you standing down?]

"The Jedi believe in duly elected representatives for the government we operate with," Luke explained. "I feel that we have not been properly elected."

"Then consider it so," the Mon Calamari representative spoke up in his garbled basic. "The decision has been made by all to follow the Jedi. We have no better leader among us than you, Master Skywalker. We will not leave now."

A murmur of agreement among the holographic images and Pellaeon threw Luke off, but he consulted his notes to buy time for his recovery. He had not expected it to be this easy, nor did he want it to be so.

"Alright," Luke said, finally identifying the part of his notes he wanted to proceed with. "So you know, we have drafted a charter of rights, conduct, and operation which will be transmitted to you shortly for your review. In summary, we will guarantee the same rights you had within the GA, and the Jedi will displace ourselves from leadership at a time we deem ourselves unnecessary. You may, of course, remove us with a fifty-one percent majority vote amongst yourselves. We also reserve the right to replace ourselves with another leader should we find one deemed suitable.

"Finally," Luke said, looking up from his notes and placing an air of finality in his voice. "We will all operate like Jedi. We will not attack civilian targets. We _will_ take prisoners and treat them fairly at every opportunity rather than kill them. And we expect everyone to do likewise and support us accordingly. I have complete trust in the military leaders we have chosen to lead the campaign against the Mandalorian occupation of the GA to follow these directives. That said, I expect little-to-no opposition from you on these points, having elected us."

Several of the holograms started tapping on consoles outside of holocam range. After a few moments, Luke realized that several of them were consulting each other, and soon they all seemed to be drawn into a conversation amongst themselves that he was not privy to seeing. Finally, Tenel Ka's hologram spoke.  
"Pending a review of the proposed documents," the Hapan Queen said. "We accept your terms. Until such time, you may lead this Jedi Federation with our blessing."

The political leaders' holograms faded away, one by one, until only the Jedi and Pellaeon were left.

"That was almost too easy," Corran said.

"Makes me wonder if we're that good, or they're that desperate." Octa agreed.

"Enough of that," Luke said. "Pellaeon?"

"We should gather the fleet admirals and discuss deployment," The old Admiral advised. "It may be difficult given current deployment, but I will do my best."

"Thank you, Admiral," Luke said before addressing the group. "You all have your assignments – let's start running our government."

* * *

The Imperial research facility initially contained eight layers of defenses. The exterior had a security fence perimeter with Stormtroopers stationed at the gates. Beyond the wall, the main doors were guarded by automated security turrets and were made out of the same alloys that were used for Imperial Star Destroyer armour.

All of these, as Sekava discovered, could be easily dispatched with a lightsaber. One thing he learned long ago was that, while doors may be difficult to break down, the walls around them may not be so unforgiving.

Inside, security was fairly minimal once you got past the inner door, a transparisteel barrier with another couple of Stormtroopers guarding it. While the lightsaber would have worked, telekinesis worked wonderfully. Telekinesis also seemed to work well on the second-last layer of security – containment shields lining the corridors. Smashing the electronics quite easily disabled the annoying system which halted Sekava's progress every five metres.

The last layer of security was at every room along the way. Each door had been equipped with a security pass reader. The first door was opened with his lightsaber. Every door he decided to open after that was opened with the security pass he took off the body of the first scientist he slaughtered.

It took nearly half an hour of going from room-to-room, demanding for the scientist he was looking for and killing the witnesses before he finally found the researcher. He was an old balding man, frail to the point where Sekava suspected a good slap across the face might kill him. The target was calmly sitting behind a desk, as if he had been waiting for Sekava all day.

"Can I help you?" The man asked calmly.

"I'm here to kill you," Sekava replied.

"Well, then you better get on with it," the scientist said, punching a few last commands into a datapad. "No sense waiting around."

Sekava blinked and stared at the man for a moment, not quite sure what was happening.

"Doesn't it _bother_ you?"

"That someone wants to kill me?" the scientist replied. "Certainly not. It is _you_ who should be bothered."

_He is confusing you. End him_.

Sekava shook his head to try clearing his thoughts.

"I have a job to do," he told the old man.

"So do I," he replied. "We all have things required of us. It is important to know our worth. Do you know why you are to kill me?"

"It is not my place to know."

"So you are just a pawn, my executioner," the scientist mused. "You do what you are told, and have no thoughts of your own.

"Tell me, does it bother you that _I_ know why you are here, yet _you_ do not?"

_Enough of this! Finish him!_

"Why am I here?" Sekava demanded, gripping his lightsaber harder until something in his hand popped, forcing him to relax it.

"A ploy," the old man smiled. "This facility really does not have any worth. The Sith were fed false information to lure them into this political ploy. I am an old scientist with a terminal illness – everyone here is. The troopers are the last of the old clone troopers near the end of their lives. My colleagues are victims of a lab accident. Our superiors asked us to perform one last duty; to deface the Mandalorians by being a martyr. I was only too happy to oblige."

Not a half hour later, Sekava's ship jumped into hyperspace. He could not remember what exactly had happened after the old man explained the situation, but all he knew was that something was _wrong_.


	5. 14 Days

**14 Days...**

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"Following the announcement that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker has returned from the dead, the Jedi Order has officially had their connections to the Galactic Alliance severed by a vote in the Senate today. Missing votes were among the fifty former members that have defected from the Galactic Alliance to support this rogue operation the Jedi have begun. Since the unauthorized departure of the Jedi Temple from Coruscant, the Jedi have largely disappeared from the galaxy, hiding while planets suffer from resource shortages, piracy, and even natural disasters – an obvious dereliction of their own self-proclaimed duty to the galaxy.

"Political polarization is building up in the Corellian sector as Senator Sal-Solo has brought forth claims that the Jedi were responsible for the abduction of his daughter. A strong opponent to the Jedi, Sal-Solo believes the Jedi abduction is meant to pressure him into supporting Diktat Saxan's pledge to support the Jedi. A video of the abduction showing humans wielding blue and green lightsabers as they departed his Coronet estate grounds with his daughter has garnered much support for Sal-Solo even though the government claims it is a personal matter for Sal-Solo and will be looking for a replacement in the Senate while he sorts this issue out.

"Finally, our new Mandalorian allies have delivered more resources to Duros, Kuat, and Bortras to fulfil their promise of helping the Galactic Alliance grow strong, despite Jedi attempts to destroy what has been built."

* * *

The crew of the _Solo Quest_ gathered in the passenger area to hear Jaina's briefing on their upcoming mission. Womprat remained in the cockpit tied into the main computer to monitor the ship while in hyperspace, but participated in the meeting over the internal communication system. Jacen sat in his favourite arm chair with Astro resting his chin on Jacen's arm. Eriana curled up on the couch with her head propped up on her arm, and Nelani sat at the other end of the couch while Karth sat in the remaining armchair. Jaina stood by the flat holodisplay on the wall, using it to display visual aids.

"Well, as you all know," Jaina said. "We're going behind enemy lines. What you may not know is that we are extracting vital research from the Mandalorian database and destroying the research facility.

"To facilitate our entry," She activated a screen that displayed a grid representation of the planet and a moon, as well as some green dots indicating a Mandalorian fleet. A click later, a red dot labelled "_Solo Quest_" zoomed in from off the display to behind the moon. "We will be cloaking the ship using a Mandalorian cloaking device." The red dot became a hollow circle and moved from behind the moon to stop on the planet. "And sneaking past their defense fleet to land on the planet."

"This assumes they can't see us," Jacen spoke up.

_Shut it!_ Jaina thought at him through their twin bond. Instead, she said, "Yes, it does."

She glared at him as she clicked to the next screen, which displayed a green landscape with a grey miniature of the _Solo Quest_ on the left and a grey box on the right.

"We will land about two kilometres away from the base to ensure we are undetected," Jaina continued. "Myself, Jacen, Astro, and Womprat will make our way through the jungle, infiltrate the base, and steal the schematics for their new power generator. Eriana, Karth, and Nelani; you will stay here and wait for our extract signal.

"We have been equipped with two Void-8 seismic charges to destroy the base with," Jaina said, almost hiding the grimace. "One will be sufficient, so Jacen and I will take one, and we'll leave the other here. If we fail in our mission, you three will have to drop the second one on the base and get out as fast as you can."

"Objection: I have reason to believe that this plan was made by someone with juvenile intelligence at best," Womprat's voice came from the comm system. "The destruction of this one would be most unfortunate. I suggest a new plan: Blow up the Jensaarai."

"No, no," Eriana rolled her eyes. "This one's fine. Then I get my own ship, apprentices, and no annoying droid to tell me I'm an idiot every twenty seconds."

"Hey, if I die," Jacen slapped her arm. "I'm coming back as a ghost and haunting this boat. It'll always be mine."

"Spoilsport," Eriana winked at him.

Karth and Nelani looked at the two of them with befuddled shock, and Jaina knew why. To them, the idea of having to bomb a friend would be unthinkable, and Jacen's usual deflection of making a joke out of a serious situation would not help them.

"Focus, please," Jaina asked behind a clenched jaw, returning their attention to her. "Obviously the second seismic charge is a last-ditch plan. I don't think any of us want to be left behind, so you're coming, Womprat. We need your slicing abilities to crack into the mainframe and extract the data. I have a..."

"Interruption: I already have the program complete," Womprat stated.

"I want to review it," Jaina said. "Make a copy for me."

"Objection: What is the magic word, meatbag?"

"Lightsaber."

"Copy being made, meatbag."

"Thank you," Jaina said acidly, jabbing her finger into the button for the next slide. "Once we get inside we'll have to download schematics of the building to figure out where everything is. We have no data on the facility as it is a top secret Mandalorian installation. We believe that the facility's isolation will work to our advantage and that there will be very few troops guarding it.

"Any questions?"

"Why aren't you staying with the ship?" Eriana asked. "Sure I can fly the mission, but you're a better pilot and I'm a lot sneakier than you."

"If things don't go as planned and we're forced to find another ship," Jaina said. "I trust my own abilities to pilot an alien ship before anyone else's here."

"Good point," Eriana conceded. "You go into the enemy base and I'll stay here."

"Thanks," Jaina said. "I think."

"When will I be able to teach you some stealth techniques with the Force?" Jacen asked.

"I know some, I should be fine," Jaina dismissed him.

"No, you won't," Jacen corrected her. His eyes looked dark and tired as he leaned forward and looked up at her. "I'm not going on this mission with you until I'm satisfied you can disguise yourself properly."

"Jacen..."

"Jaina," Jacen said sharply. "I would feel more comfortable with Eriana going with me. She's had Fallanassi..."

"I'm going," Jaina snapped. "I can leave _you_ behind if you'd prefer."

Astro's head snapped over to glare at Jaina, but Jacen patted Astro's head and sent reassuring messages to the Vornskr through the Force.

"This isn't the ship you want to pull a mutiny on," Jacen warned. "I'm only looking out for your safety and the success of the mission."

"Fine," She said. "I'll learn your little tricks. We have a day before we're there; that should be plenty of time. Any other questions?"

Without waiting for a response, she threw her datapad at her brother and stormed towards the cockpit.

Jacen waited until she was out of earshot and looked directly at Nelani. "What happened?"

Nelani exchanged glances with Karth and swallowed hard.

"While you were gone we were sent out on a mission," Nelani explained. "Long story short, Master Solo was captured by some bounty hunters as bait for you. We think she was tortured. Karth and I rescued her and she was in really bad shape. She spent about a week getting bacta therapy afterward and... well, she hasn't been the same since."

"She's been...sharper," Karth elaborated. "She flies and fights more aggressively, she snaps at people..."

"Sounds like the old Jaina," Jacen sighed and followed his sister's path towards the cockpit.

* * *

The Jedi Federation Strategic Command Team gathered around a holodisplay of the galaxy in several locations around the galaxy, but all were looking at the same people and data in the same relative places. Luke, Pellaeon, Han, Leia, Kenth Hamner, Octa Ramsis, and Keyan Farlander made up the largest group of sentients in one physical location, with Wedge Antilles, Tycho Celchu, Traest Kre'fey, Garm Bel Iblis, Tenel Ka, and Sien Sovv tuning in over secured subspace holonet connections.

"Thank you, my friends," Luke started. "Your support in this difficult time is most welcome."

"Just make sure you win this one, Luke," Wedge quipped. "I'd hate to have to switch sides after that letter I sent Omas."

Luke smiled faintly and gestured to the map displaying the approximate current layout of their combined fleets in blue. "As you are aware, we have some planning to do. After reviewing the material lists you sent me, I have discussed with Gilad some possible strategies, and we have come up with the following:"

The blue fleets divided into three colour groups; red, yellow, and green.

"We create a three-way division in the fleet based on purpose," Luke explained. "The yellow represents planetary or sector defense fleets, such as the Hapes Consortium and Bastion fleets. Their goals will be to defend specific areas, mostly within hostile territory or of significant strategic value. The green fleets represent mobile defense fleets, code-named 'Empire.' Their job will be to protect sectors within a proximity area.

"General Hamner will take command of areas of Wedge's fleets for that purpose in this area of the galaxy," Luke pointed to the area around Belgaroth and a profile image of Kenth Hamner's face appeared in the hologram with general bars beneath and a green glow surrounding it. "Admiral Sovv will coordinate around Manaan and Thyferra, Admiral Pellaeon will guard the Imperial Remnant, and Admiral Kre'fey will guard Mon Calamiri and the Corporate sector." Profile images of each admiral appeared at their assigned locations above an image of a green Imperial Star Destroyer with the appropriate rank bars beneath their image.

"Finally, the red groups will be code-named 'Rebels,'" Luke said with a grin. "The Rebels will be focusing on hit-and-fade operations to immobilize key facilities and disrupt their supply lines. Wedge, you'll be operating out of Belgaroth overseeing the operations from Belgaroth to Bothan Space from the core to the Outer Rim."

An image of Wedge appeared above an X-wing with admiral bars indicating rank, drawing a look of surprise and confusion from the old fighter pilot.

"Congratulations; you've been promoted," Luke explained. "Garm, you'll be working the area from Corellia to Manaan and out to Denon. Gavin, you have former Hutt Space – and be careful. We suspect that that's where the Mandalorians have most of their bases. Tycho, you'll be watching Hapes, Mon Calamari and the area between the Perlemian Trade Route and the Hydian Way. My fleet will be harassing everything from Coruscant to the Imperial Remnant and into the deep core. When I am unavailable, Keyan Farlander will be commanding my fleet.

"Any questions?"

"How do our people keep sharp?" Kre'fey growled, obviously displeased with his assigned defence role. "If your fleets are doing all the attacks, the rest of our troops will get sloppy."

"We'll rotate personnel and ships as needed," Pellaeon spoke up. "The secondary role of the 'Empire' will be to perform repairs on the 'Rebel' ships. Ships needing repairs will be assigned to Empire duties while other ships and personnel are transferred to the front lines."

"What about the admirals?" Kre'fey asked behind bared teeth. "You don't expect me to babysit the Mon Calamiri while the rest of you have all of the fun, do you?"

"Yes, I expect you to do just that," Luke replied with absolute seriousness. "Admirals will be rotated, when necessary, but we are all expected to follow our roles as assigned. We selected each of you for your position based on your experience. Wedge, Tycho, Garm, Gavin, Keyan, and I were in the Rebellion the last time around. We know how to do hit-and-fade operations and operate behind enemy lines as well as anyone. The rest of you have excellent track records defending systems from assaults. I realize your experiences, Admiral Kre'fey, are more diverse than others, but we need you to maintain a defensive front for the initial phases of our deployment to ensure we don't lose any ground. Once we see what game the Sith are playing, we will reassess our fleet deployment."

"Will covert operations continue?" Tycho asked. "I have the Wraiths with me in my fleet. Face has already been nagging me about blowing up Mandalore."

"The shipyard?" Wedge asked.

"The planet," Tycho responded dryly. "Naturally, I told him to wait until I talked to you."

"I will be joining you on your command ship, General," Octa said to Tycho. "They will continue gathering intel for now under my direction. The Jedi Council has decided to limit the amount of damage we do to anything until we can assess the enemy's strategies. A diplomatic solution might still be possible. We want to wait before we start blowing up shipyards that may even be willing to switch sides."

"When the populations see how well organized we are," Leia continued. "There may be a chance we can attract more followers. You must keep in mind that the actions of the fleet must be seen as diplomatic manoeuvres as much as they are military actions. Entire planetary populations will be watching both sides closely, and it is best that we do not mess up. Any chance to make them look worse is a secondary objective."

"We tried a bit of makeshift diplomacy with a false research facility," Pellaeon said, "But the holonet didn't bite after a Sith Lord attacked it."

"I think this is a waste of effort," Wedge finally said after a pensive silence filled the room. "We should attack them hard and fast while they're still disorganized. Commit all our ships to a full scale assault on Mandalorian space, Coruscant, their shipyards, and any known resource bases. They'll never see it coming. We occupy them with ground troops and control key installations until we can rout them out completely. And to keep the people happy, we use non-lethal force. Stun weapons and ion cannons only."

"We don't have enough Jedi Knights to commit to that plan," Kenth argued. "We all know how capable the Jedi are in personal combat. Two Sith Lords could easily destabilize the most secure location without Jedi to defend it."

"Then we get in, dismantle the facilities, and steal key components," Wedge replied. "Anything we can't steal, we tow into space and blow up. They'll be shut down for weeks."

"Wedge, you know as well as anyone that pre-emptive strikes can completely backfire," Leia said. "They'll spin our attacks as the Jedi further trying to destabilize the economy. Yes, it would be a military victory, but it would be political suicide. Our safest play is to be defensive."

Wedge crossed his arms and took a step away from the display, shaking his head silently.

"What?" Han demanded of Wedge.

"A good defense _is_ a strong offense," Wedge replied. "We didn't defeat the Empire by picking targets and playing nice. We won because we were two steps ahead of them and they didn't know where to hit us."

"We also didn't have entire sectors of the galaxy openly supporting us and depending on us for defense," Leia countered. "Or manufacturing facilities we need to protect from assault."

"Or the Jedi Council heading the government," Luke added. "Wedge, without the sectors backing us with supplies and personnel, we may as well cave now. We have to play a defensive role as much as we need to keep them off balance. The Jedi will not condone unprovoked attacks, and we expect you to adhere to this request."

"Request?" Wedge growled. "Or order?"

"I know you too well to make it an order," Luke replied with a smile.

"True," Wedge grinned back. "Don't worry, we'll play ball. I wanted to see how serious you were about your passive plans."

"Take it from an old scoundrel." Han put an arm around Leia and winked. "Never bluff a Jedi. They _always_ know."

Luke pressed a button, deactivating the strategic plan holodisplay and indicating he wanted to continue with the meeting.

"Gavin has graciously planned out the division of the fleet to maximize resource usage. Full details will be distributed shortly, but our larger vessels will be committed to defensive fronts, and smaller, faster ships will be used for hit-and-run attacks along with the many interdictors Gavin acquired for us," Luke said. "For now, focus on intercepting shipments of supplies while minimizing collateral damage or casualties. This should get them to start pulling military vessels away from other duties. When we notice a decrease in their defensive positions, we'll start planning larger operations and pulling larger ships into the attack fleets so we can hit hard targets. You will be receiving the fleet assignments and initial targets once we finalize the details. Our Jedi will also be disbursed among the fleet based on their skills and your needs. Any other questions?"

Half an hour after Luke had asked that question, he almost regretted doing so. Each admiral and general decided to raise every concern from resource deployment to overall strategy, and even questioning the position of the Jedi as the leaders of what essentially amounted to a military government. Concerns were brought up regarding smaller independent or supportive planets that were asking for defense against the Mandalorians, and some planets threatening to reveal fleet movements as blackmail for protection. Luke reflected wryly that the only difference between them and some of the Jedi Council meetings was that these arguments actually made _sense_. Eventually the arguments died down, and Octa Ramsis took over.

"As you know, I will be leading the intelligence aspect of our operations," Octa said. "I will be working with Gavin to identify candidates among your fleets to help me in gathering information about the enemy movements, and will be depending on those of you on the front lines to assist me in deploying information networks behind enemy lines."

"Booster," Wedge said.

"Sorry?"

"Talk to Booster," Wedge elaborated. "He has as many contacts anywhere as a stray felinx has floater fleas, and there's no way he would betray us. He likes us."

"Yes, of course, Admiral," Octa replied with forced neutrality in her voice. "Nonetheless, we will be deploying our own people, as well. The more ears we have open, the more we'll hear."

Wedge, Tycho, and Gavin all shared a glance and tried not to laugh. They were all thinking the same thing: _Textbook rookie._

A discrete warning glance from Luke stopped them from making any comments.

"As I said, all orders will come through secure channels," Luke repeated. "We'll use the standard encryption codes. If we don't encrypt the communications, follow them, but assume everything can go wrong. Until you receive your first orders, organize yourselves defensively. I don't want to poke a sleeping Krayt Dragon just yet. May the Force be with you."

Each holographic image faded in turn until the room was filled with humans.

"The standard encryption codes?" Pellaeon asked.

"An old trick we used in the Rebellion," Luke said with a grin. "We would take the last eight letters of the name of who was sending a message, then the last eight letters of the name of the person who would be receiving it, spell them both backwards and convert the letters to numbers based on their position in the Aurabesh as the encryption and decryption keys. We would then send the signal out in the Holonet advertisements as background noise using slicing protocols. Anyone with too few letters, we just repeated from the start. It turned into quite the nickname generating tool. It took a Wookiee-related injury and an executive order from Mon Mothma to get people to stop calling Han, 'Holosnah.'"

Pellaeon sighed. "It's a wonder how we never caught you, Reklawyk."

* * *

The vast Senate coliseum hummed with dull chatter as the senators from across the galaxy settled in for the day's session to address the Jedi situation. Each planet's representatives had their own repulsorpod that could detach from the conical walls and hover in the middle of the arena when addressing the speaker, bringing focus to an individual pod amid a sea of representatives. This traditional design of the building had won the favour of the politicians upon the rebuilding commencement five years previous as a throwback to the days of stability they remembered from the Old Republic. Unfortunately, the symbol of stability had not worked in unifying the GA as had been hoped.

At the appropriate time, the Chief of State ascended from his office below on a hover platform that hung in the exact middle of the cone and silence fell over the assembly like a blanket. Every planet lobbied to have their repulsor pods closest to the middle as that was seen as the most influential area to control within the coliseum. As such, several rings of repulsorpods nearest the bottom and top were empty, indicating the planets that betrayed the Galactic Alliance and joined forces with the Jedi.

"Welcome, Senators," Cal Omas spoke once his platform reached the appropriate height. "Thank you for assembling on such short notice, but Jedi activities have brought about a worrisome chain of events that we must address. I call on the Mandalorian representative to share with you what he has discovered."

Soora Bulq, under the guise of Marvis Cree, pressed a button in front of him and his pod detached from its dock on the wall, hovering almost horizontally to several metres in front of Cal Omas. His relative position, just above the middle line, was an indication of just how much influence he had gathered for the Mandalorians in the short time since joining the Alliance.

"Thank you, Chief Omas." Cree's deep voice resonated through the coliseum. A holographic list of names appeared before every senate member, scrolling through over three thousand entries. He removed the helmet of his Mandalorian armour disguise to make himself appear less intimidating and spoke loudly.

"What you see before you is the list of ships that the Jedi coalition has stolen from the Galactic Alliance military. Three thousand ships may not sound like much, but I ask you to look at the ship classes. These are three thousand _capital_ ships. _Your_ very best ships, including your _Super_-class Star Destroyers. These ships were recently refitted using _your_ planets' tax dollars. They are fully loaded with _your_ weapons and supplies to last for months of extended combat operations. Their fighter bays are loaded with _your_ best starfighters, while the ships in the most disrepair were cycled elsewhere and left behind. Their personnel are the most experienced in the fleet, and somehow several cadets were promoted to the rank of admiral during the mutiny.

"The Jedi would not have called upon their supporters to steal these ships if they did not intend to use them," Cree said passionately. "The Jedi are making _fools_ out of you."

"Thank you, Senator Cree," Cal Omas interrupted, silencing the Mandalorian microphone. "This turn of events is certainly disturbing. I have other reports that state irrefutably that our valued military leaders, Sien Sovv, Garm Bel Iblis, Wedge Antillies, Tycho Celchu, and others, led the defection. Honestly, we are still trying to sort out the mess they left us, including eliminating a virus that plays a video of a dancing Ewok whenever we try accessing the personnel database."

A hoverpod containing the representative from Kuat hovered forward from its position just below the empty Mandalorian dock.

"The chair recognizes the Kuati senator," one of the aides in Cal Omas's pod announced.

"Chief Omas, I trust we can count on our new Mandalorian friends and their trained warriors to fill the gaps left in the fleet. Kuat can certainly increase our ship production twofold to support this, if resources are made available."

Another hoverpod floated into view, this time the representative from Commenor.

"Surely diplomatic efforts have been made to contact the Jedi and learn their intentions?" he asked.

"It is clear what the Jedi want," Cree spoke up. "They are amassing a fleet and gathering allies. They are going to _attack_ us!"

A roar of approval broke out across the coliseum signifying agreement with Cree's words, and he made a mental note to have someone _talk_ to the representative from Commenor.

"Chief Omas," Marvis Cree spoke above the dying cheer. "I hereby put to the Senate a vote to authorize the expenditure of increased military funding to aid us Mandalorians in supporting your military to counteract the Jedi threat. With our resources and your shipbuilding capabilities, together we can protect the GA planets and restore order to the galaxy."

* * *

"What's going on with me?" Sekava asked Morris.

"You're confused," Morris replied, putting his head on the control panel and leaning his headless body back on the co-pilot chair. The head continued to speak to him from the control panel. "The Sith are confusing you. You have to get out on your own. Maybe you can get help from the Jedi."

"Nonsense," Hashi said, slipping an arm around Sekava's chest and affectionately squeezing the side of her head that had not been cut off against his cheek. "The Sith make you strong. They will bring you power."

"I don't _want_ power!" Sekava shouted, pushing off the chair and out of Hashi's grasp. "All I wanted was to get out of that life I had. This is worse!"

"Impossible!" Hashi said. "Now you don't have to worry about bullies and thugs. Think of how much damage you did on that planet! The power you possess! You are fit to rule with me at your side."

"You have a good heart," Morris said. "This isn't you. The Jedi can help you."

Hashi sneered something at Morris that made the young body reach out and turn the head away in shame.

"I can't trust either of you!" Sekava shouted. "You, you're both dead! You're crazy," he cried, pointing to Hashi and turning to Morris, he continued. "And you're weak!"Before he could say another word, the ship signaled it was time to drop out of hyperspace. He returned to the pilot chair and pulled the lever to return to realspace. According to the navicomputer he was right on time in the right location, so he activated the communication system the way he was told to.

"Status?" Lord Krak's deep voice boomed over the speakers.

"Target destroyed," Sekava said. He really did not know if the target was destroyed or not, but he did not want to report failure.

"Excellent," Krak said with a smile. "Report to Raxis base. The coordinates are in your navicomputer. It will take you a few days to get there, but the journey will be worthwhile. Jacen Solo is walking into a trap there. After he is captured, bring him to Ossus for Master Bulq to kill him."

"Solo," Hashi hissed in Sekava's ear as Krak's hologram faded away. "Your revenge is at hand."

* * *

"Problems, Goddess?" Jacen asked, leaning against the door to the cockpit and referring to her alias used during the Yuuzhan Vong war. "You seem a little wound up, even for you."

Jaina looked up from a display and glared at him from the communications chair.

"I don't appreciate you criticizing my abilities in front of my apprentices," She snarled. "Or at all, for that matter. I'm just as capable as you are, and you know it."

Jacen bowed his head and disappeared.

"Jacen?" She asked.

"Over here," Jacen's voice came from farther down the corridor.

"No, here," His voice came from the comm unit in front of her, making her spin and look at it with concern.

"Or maybe here," His voice came from behind her. She whirled around and saw him sitting in the pilot's seat looking at her. "Or there."

Jacen pointed to the co-pilot's seat, where another image of Jacen appeared.

The pressure of a hand squeezing her shoulder made her jump and whirl around with an elbow strike that he slapped away with his other hand.

"Or right here," Jacen said while the edges of his invisibility field finally faded around him. He sat in the pilot's seat and looked up at her. "Your turn."

"Cute," She said. "But a couple of mind tricks won't get you past droids or sensors."

"Actually, some of them will," Jacen said with a smirk. "But just in case they don't, I have this."

He unclipped something from his belt and tossed it to her.

"A Mandalorian personal stealth field," Jacen said. "They've been refining the technology for the last four thousand years in secret, and they guard them very closely. Only commando teams are given them, and they're designed so that only a specific commando team can use them and still see each other. One team can't see another, and they're impervious to most forms of sensor scanning. Infrared is about the only one that defeats it, but for troopers in climate controlled armour, it doesn't quite matter."

"So you have one," Jaina said, examining the device with interest. "But that doesn't mean I can use it, too."

"No," Jacen said from the door, the image of him on the chair fading away. Jaina turned around yet again to see him leaning exactly where he was before he started his mindtricks. "Since you'll be too busy to learn from me, you can take that. I think I'll be okay without it."

He winked and walked away, leaving her staring at the stealth field generator as bewildered as she ever had been.

* * *

About three hours into the search of Soora's office, Tahiri sighed and rubbed her eyes from exhaustion. It had taken her days to find the opportunity to convince Soora to take political matters on Coruscant into his own hands and leave Mandalorian oversight to her. The fact that he forgot her earlier so-called blunder gave her a mixture of hope and fear. Three days ago she sent Urik off after some lead she made up about Boba Fett, and she used his absence to take over the training regiments for the Mandalorians on Ossus.

After much work on her part, it took her two days for her to convince Darth Krak that he needed to inspect the Mandalorian fleet in orbit personally to ensure she was doing her job properly…and give her free reign on the Sith base to look into the Jedi mole. Now she felt that her efforts were in vain.

No sooner than she received confirmation that Krak had arrived at the fleet, she walked as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion to Soora's office where she copied data cards for later reference and searched through stacks of flimsy for any details on the spy among the Jedi. Finally, she turned to his computer to search the message system.

_Anakin was always better at this, _she thought desperately as she frantically read anything she could absorb off the terminal. Despite her best efforts, she could not find any details on the mole in the Jedi ranks, only finding reference to a operative code named 'Zizo' that provided reports on Jedi activities. After copying all the files from his message system, she searched for information about a Zizo. Her extensive search on the holonet came up with the name of a water flea that lived near waterfalls, and at least five hundred thousand variations of it used in video gamer avatars across the galaxy.

"This is pointless," She said to herself. She checked the wall chrono, finally taking notice of the time. Darth Krak would be returning in under half an hour. She collected all her data cards and did her best to hide her tracks before leaving the office as she found it.

* * *

One hundred metres in diameter, crescent-shaped like a quarter moon and wedged from the thickest part of the crescent towards the tips, the dark green ship promised to the Jedi Order looked like it was flying at high speed despite being in dry dock. Turbolasers and laser cannons bristled all over the surface symmetrically, hidden beneath the peak of the crescent and the bottom ridge on both sides. The inside tips of the wings appeared to be made of some jelly-like substance that ran a quarter of the way up the arms. At first glance the ship appeared to Luke to have a higher engine-to-mass ratio than the _Millennium_ _Falcon_, and he suspected the design had anti-detection properties as well.

"Master Skywalker, I presume?" A precise, cultured voice asked from behind the two Jedi. Luke and Lowbacca turned around and found a balding man about Luke's height wearing captain bars on his uniform. "I am Captain Onam. Admiral Pellaeon asked me to introduce you to our new ship."

"We're looking forward to it," Luke said. "What can you tell me about it? The Admiral didn't say much except where we could find it."

"The ship incorporates a variety of new technologies exclusive to this class of experimental ships," Onam launched into his description as if he were a sales representative bored about yet-another presentation for someone unlikely to buy his product. "Essentially, it is a multi-person starfighter equipped with capital ship weaponry and advanced power generation that allows greater speed and maneuverability for a ship within its class. There are twenty-four turbolasers and the same number of laser canons spread across the ship. In addition, there are, theoretically, two experimental plasma torpedo launchers based on Yuuzhan Vong hybrid technology in each wingtip."

Lowbacca growled a question, which Luke translated.

"Theoretically?"

"Yes," Onam said with a bite of impatience at being interrupted from his speech. "It will be theoretical until such time as the technicians can ever get them to work. That will be your assignment, Master Wookiee..."

"Lowbacca," Luke interrupted.

"Yes, yes. Master Wookiee Lowbacca. You have to fix them," Onam said impatiently, reminding both Jedi of a certain golden protocol droid. "There are also advanced cross-linked laser targeting systems similar to those in a Super Star Destroyer that will allow for lower-than-ideal occupancy with maintained functionality. The shields and hyperdrive are basic models we intend to upgrade once we have a design that will fit the space constraints of the ship, but the sublight drives and armour plating are quite advanced.

"We have created a new form of crystalline-hybrid hull plating that can take twice the damage of durasteel, and has been affixed in standard plates that can easily be removed and replaced during refit. Naturally, there will be less crew space because of the weaponry, engines and power generation requirements, but the ship is designed to operate out of a larger ship, such as a star destroyer.

"All-in-all, it will deliver a stronger attack than any ship in its class and outmaneuver ships a quarter of its size. Given that we plan to have a small fleet of these ships to swarm larger targets, our codename for this project is _Pirhana Beetle_."

Luke regarded Lowbacca for a moment and looked back at the ship.

"Let's call it _Yoda_."

* * *

Intuition had Soora wandering the halls of the senate, leading him to many senators who expressed their gratitude toward his efforts and the efforts of the Mandalorian people against the deviant Jedi. While he felt making himself seen was important, something else was guiding him. Before long, he found what he did not know he had been looking for – a group of senators speaking in hushed tones, including the one from Commenor who had spoken against him.

Using the Force, Soora allowed himself to overhear their conversation from around the corner and out of sight.

"The Jedi have always been the guardians of peace," One senator said. "My people forget what the Jedi did for us during the Clone and Vong Wars, and support the Mandalorians. The media tells us a story about Jedi deviance, but how much is true?"

"The media can rarely be trusted," Another spoke up. "I, for one, will be returning to my homeworld and I will recommend supporting the Jedi. I fear this vote in the senate is merely a way to weed out those who support the Jedi. I've heard rumours of Sith involvement with the Mandalorians. Remember Palpatine? He kept asking for military power, and the senate kept giving it to him."

A moment of silence was broken by a third senator.

"We should leave," she said. "Declare neutrality. The truth will come out eventually, and only then can we decide what is best for our people."

The senators broke up and headed in their own directions just as Soora's communicator vibrated in his pocket. The message brought a wide grin to his face.

Jedi Temple located over Bastion.


	6. 13 Days

**AN: My apologies for the delay...like the brilliant Sheldon Cooper, I forgot my flash drive (at work)...**

**Please enjoy :-)**

* * *

**13 Days...**

The heavy insulated boots of the extreme-weather suit thumped loudly against the deck plating as Jacen walked across the training room floor. He enjoyed the way the sound echoed off the walls as he accustomed himself to the feel of the suit's movements. He, however, was alone in that enjoyment.

"Are you trying to drive me crazy?" Jaina's stern voice asked from the door. "Or did I just forget how annoying you are?"

Jacen considered for a moment. "Yes."

"Brothers," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "How's the suit?" She asked, not entirely satisfied with his answer.

"Not bad," Jacen looked down appraisingly. "It fits well and doesn't really restrict movement all that much. Only the boots are heavy, but that's because they have magnetic plates for low-grav situations. I still prefer the Mandalorian armour, to be honest."

"You still have it," Jaina noted. "Wear it."

"Bad idea," Jacen removed the helmet from the suit and tossed it to her. She placed it on the case for the other suits and walked around him to help him remove the suit. "Mandalorian armour sets are unique. Someone might recognize the armour. And I don't have any paint they would believe to see."

"What about…"

"Jace, we're coming out of hyperspace now," Eriana interrupted through the comm system. "I'm activating the cloak. Don't forget, we won't have shields with the cloak up."

"Go ahead, we'll be there in a minute," Jacen called to the wall panel, holding the transmit button down with the Force. A moment later the ship decelerated and Jaina yanked off one of the arms of his suit, seemingly wanting to remove his arm with it.

"Not easy to get this thing off, eh?" Jacen asked, trying to lighten her foul mood.

Jaina grunted in response, moving over to remove his other sleeve.

"You should try putting it on alone. I think that's why they invented the Force."

Without warning, a violent shudder knocked both siblings off their feet.

"We're under attack!" Eriana called as the twins tumbled across the room. The ship took a sharp turn, and another explosion hit the ship directly outside the training room, sending a blinding flash of light into the room. The air immediately started to hiss out the hole where the light came from, and Jacen instinctively used the Force to block the air from escaping. He sensed Jaina was unconscious and picked her up with the Force while using it to stabilize his steps. Another blast hit the ship causing Jacen to focus on stabilizing himself and maintain his grip on Jaina, but he lost hold of the leak. Air hissed out again and Jacen slammed the door release for the corridor leading to the medical bay. The door refused to open due to the air pressure loss, so Jacen quickly covered the leak again and pulled some of the oxygen in the room around him, Jaina, and the door sensors. He hit the door release again and the doors popped open. He slipped through the doors and pulled Jaina along, then hit the door release to close it.

It did not budge.

He hit it three more times to be sure.

"Womprat!" Jacen shouted at the wall comm. He could sense Nelani and Karth were in the gun turrets, and Eriana and Astro were in the cockpit. "Lock down all the doors! Seal the turrets, we have an air leak!"

He did not wait for an acknowledgement and opened the door to the escape pod just behind him and dragged Jaina in. He closed the door and released his control of the Force. Struggling with the over-sized suit, he tried to rearrange Jaina in a way that would make her more comfortable than being shoved unceremoniously head first against the wall with her head between her knees when another impact on the ship send both twins tumbling like rag dolls. Jacen barely noticed his sister's head hit the eject button when a sharp pain at the back of his own head robbed him of consciousness.

* * *

After receiving a communiqué from Soora, Darth Krak cued a live link to Urik aboard his command ship. Within moments, the silver-helmet of Mandalore appeared to greet him.

"Lord Krak."

"Mandalore, you have an assignment," Krak said. "The Senate has approved our forces to capture the Jedi Temple over Bastion and the release of the torpedo turret shipment to Fondor. We will lure them into attacking us at Giju. Master Bulq will convince Cal Omas to put arrest orders out for the Jedi, and we will retaliate with a strike at Bastion. We will not consider the destruction of the Jedi Temple to be a failure, even if the Senate does."

"Understood," Urik said with a smile in his voice.

* * *

The black-streaked top of Lowbacca's brown-furred head and his golden eyes appeared from a hole in the floor of _Yoda'_s busy command deck when Ben Skywalker approached. The lanky Wookiee looked up at his young charge and barked a question.

"I got it," Ben answered, dropping cross-legged on the deck in front of his master. He was finally starting to learn some of the Wookiee language without the use of his translator droid, a fact that Lowbacca was happy about. Part of Ben's training with the Jedi was to learn about other languages and cultures, and the Wookiee language was one of the more difficult to learn. "It was the same problem with mom's ship. I synced the power flow and networked the imaging matrixes like you told me. The two cloaking generators work good now."

[Good,] Lowbacca barked, cringing inwardly at Ben's grammar. He barked some things that Ben could not quite catch and lifted himself out of the service pit. He walked to the bulkhead and extracted a pair of comlinks, one of which he threw to Ben.

"Master Lowbacca said he wants you to climb into that dangerous little hole so he can go test the command interface neural network feed for the port plasma launchers," Tee-Bee Ninety-Two supplied. "Though I would prefer a good power down cycle myself."

Lowie roared some comments at Teebee that went untranslated and he left the command deck. Ben climbed into the pit and looked around. There were all sorts of weird control panels and crystals he had never seen before arranged in a very neat and orderly way. It made the insides of the _Millennium Falcon_ look like a tornado's wake in comparison.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Teebee asked. "I would hate for you to get electrocuted and become damaged in the process."  
"Its okay, Teebee," Ben said. "I don't think I'll get sparked down here. It's just like mom's ship, but newer."

"I was more worried about myself," the droid muttered.

[_I'm here_,] Lowbacca's voice came across the comlink, surprising Ben. [_Let's check each of the connections one at a time._]

Two excruciating hours later found no anomalies in the targeting, firing or diagnostic systems on either side of the ship, but the weapons still refused fire. Lowbacca ordered Ben to meet him at the starboard launchers and Ben hoisted himself out of the pit. He started to drag the panel over to cover the hole, but found he was not yet strong enough to move it.

"Need a hand?" A familiar voice came from behind him.

"Dad!" Ben ran up and hugged his dad tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," A stuffy balding man glared down at Ben. "Children are not allowed on the Empire's ships."

"Captain Onam, this is my son, Ben Skywalker," Luke ignored the captain's indirect complaint. "He is assisting Lowbacca with the exotic system implementation."

"I got the cloaks to work, Dad!" Ben said brightly. "Master Lowbacca told me how to do it, but he let me do it myself. He wants me to go see him at the plasma thingies."

"Run along, Ben," Luke said. "I'll get the panel."

Ben was already through the door and down the hallway before his dad could even lift the panel, and soon found himself at the location his master told him to go to. Instead of finding a towering Wookiee, he found an open panel waist high with two hairy feet bouncing in tune to a hummed popular Wookiee song.

"Hey Master Lowbacca!" Ben called. "Dad's in the control room."

Lowbacca growled a statement.

"I believe the Master Wookiee would like you to refer to your father as 'Master Skywalker,'" TeeBee drawled.

"But...he's my dad," Ben said.

"He is also the leader of the Jedi Order," TeeBee translated Lowbacca's reply. "When you are alone with him, he is your dad. But when you are in public, he is Master Skywalker."

"Sorry," Ben turned away to hide his blushing. "I guess I'm just not good at this Jedi stuff."

Lowie wiggled his way out of the compartment and said something Ben heard many times before: [One more thing for the great forest of life to teach you.]

Ben smiled at this, and brought his attention back to the plasma launchers. "What's wrong with them?"

[They're hungry,] Lowie growled. [The Empire hasn't fed them properly, so they don't want to work.] Beyond that, Ben needed TeeBee's translation to understand the long-winded explanation about how the hybrid technology did not get what it needed from the synthetic food that the Empire was feeding the launchers and the launchers would not function without rocks high in oxidized iron. The nutrients alone were not enough for the launchers.

"Master Lowbacca," Ben said. "I have a question."

[Yes?] Lowbacca grunted.

"Is it true what Jaina always says?" Ben asked. "That you always think with your stomach?"

* * *

Among the familiar controls of the _Jade Shadow_ and the swirling vortex of hyperspace, Danni Quee sat in the pilot's seat reading something she had never expected to ever read in her life. Oddly enough, this was not the first time she had read such a thing. The last time she read one such object was in a giant library on the very planet the _Jade Shadow_ was heading towards.

The book she held was older than any being she knew, was printed on real paper, and told the story of a well-known drama. Pellaeon gave her the book before she left as a gift. Since the Yuuzhan Vong war, Danni and Gilad had become close. Her work on the design of the _Piranha Beetle_-class ships eventually put her into the position of lead researcher for the hybrid technology development, reporting directly to the Grand Admiral from Zonoma Sekot.

What surprised Danni the most about the book, a fact she was sure the Grand Admiral would be proud of her to have learned, was that the words were not the same as the most common version of the story in publication. If Danni had to spend credits on a wager, she would have spent them on the suspicion that Palpatine had the current version modified – especially since the main character was a Jedi in the book.

_Or maybe it's his way of telling me to become a Jedi._ Danni smiled to herself. A second later, a siren put the book out of her thoughts as the ship was torn from hyperspace. Between the Mandalorian battleship and the fighters swarming about, Danni forgot all about the meaning of an old bundle of paper.

* * *

After a long hyperdrive journey and a night's rest, Lanos entered the command chamber of his new assignment and saluted to Braagan, the commander of the base.

"Lanos Gaff, Commando Team Leader, reporting as ordered."

"At ease, Commando Gaff," Braagan said lazily, despite the fact Lanos technically out ranked him. It would take Lanos some time to regain his deserved respect after his failure with Solo. "We just received word that an escape pod went down in the forest from a ship that decided to orbit the wrong planet. Grab some speeders and check it out."

"Do we know who they might be?" Lanos asked.

"Smugglers, spies, lost travellers," Braagan mused. "It doesn't matter. Just make sure they aren't...going to threaten our work here."

Lanos left without any acknowledgement, which he was sure Braagan had expected. He may have to report to an inferior by rank, but he did not have to show undue respect.

* * *

An intense throbbing pain crept into Jaina's consciousness, forcing her to open her eyes with a grimace to discover the source of the offending pain. Everything appeared blurry at first, but Jaina soon realized that wherever she was, it was a very hot, humid, and dark place.

"Hey, don't move," Jacen's soft voice came from her right. "You're recovering from a pretty nasty concussion. Well, two, actually."

"What?" Jaina asked. Somehow the pain redoubled itself when she spoke, causing her to grimace and press the palm of her hand against her forehead. "How'd I get a concussion? Where are we?"

Jacen stroked a damp cloth across her forehead, and most of the pain went away.

"As best I can tell," Jacen started. "The _Quest_ was ambushed when we came out of hyperspace. Either the cloak didn't work or the Mandos can see through their own cloaks. The area we were in was hit by a few laser blasts before Eriana could get the shields up. We got shaken up pretty badly, and you got knocked out. That's the bump on your forehead."

"So where are we?" Jaina demanded, rubbing the bump on the back of her head.

"Well, we were losing atmosphere inside, so I put us in the escape pod because it was the only contained area of the ship nearby."

Jaina suddenly sat up, and immediately wished she had not. Waves of pain and nausea nearly made her fall over, and Jacen braced her when he sensed her instability.

"I told you not to move," Jacen said smartly. It took Jaina a moment before she could speak.

"You launched the escape pod?"

"No," Jacen said sarcastically. "The back of your fat head hit the launch button when the ship lurched."

"Great," Jaina groaned. "At least we can finish the mission. Why is it so dark?"

"It's night, silly," Jacen said. "Or more accurately, a passing satellite has blocked the sunlight over this area. It should be light in a couple hours. Until then, the doctor's ordering you a healing trance. I'll keep watch."

Jaina felt a funny feeling creep into Jacen's thoughts when he mentioned the last words.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"I felt that," Jaina snapped. "What's wrong with you keeping watch?"

Jacen scratched his head awkwardly. "Remember that blast I told you that hit the ship and knocked you out?"

"Only by reputation."

"Well that's the last thing I saw," Jacen said grimly. "It damaged my retinas."

"You're blind?"

"Temporarily," Jacen said optimistically. "The damage isn't too bad. Maybe a day or two with some healing meditations, and I have them covered up. But I'm getting pretty good at using the Force to see, so I'll be fine. You're the one with a third-degree concussion. Besides, I have to build a lightsaber out of parts from the escape pod before the Mandalorian scouts get here, so we need to stay put for a while."

"What?" Jaina demanded.

"Well the entire fleet probably saw us crash land," Jacen said reasonably. "And I left my lightsaber in my quarters. My best guess is that we're about four hundred kilometres from the base, so it'll take them a while to get here. And once they do, we'll steal a speeder. Either way, we have to wait."

"Can't you do that fancy Aing-Tii thing to get your lightsaber and transport us over there?"

"No," Jacen sighed. "I have to know exactly where something is to do that. Considering I have no idea where the ship is, the area I'd have to reach out to find it in would broadcast our position to every Sith in the area. We're better off not using the Force too much. A downed escape pod is something for the rank and file to pursue. Until the word 'Jedi' comes up, the Sith won't think it is worth their time. For all they know, we could be corporate executives who got lost on a private charter."

Jaina sighed as the pain slowly returned to her head. As upset as she was, the entire situation was bringing about that helpless feeling that she was along for the ride, for better or for worse.

"I hope you know what you're doing," She said, and drew herself into a healing trance.

"Me too," Jacen responded to his unconscious sister. He rested his head against his hand for a moment, sighed, and slumped in exhaustion. Jacen wished once again that he could sleep before returning to constructing his new lightsaber.

* * *

Jaina awoke from her healing trance and found herself in a brightly lit clearing, as she suspected, in the middle of a hot, humid, jungle. Her head finally stopped throbbing, thanks to her healing trance. She looked around to assess the clearing, and found four Mandalorians pointing their blasters at her. Instinctively she reached for her lightsaber, which was not on her belt.

"Easy there, girly," One wearing solid black armour said. "We aren't going to hurt you. Yet."

_Where in all nine Corellian hells did Jacen go?_

"That's too bad," Jaina said. "Because I'm sure going to hurt you."

"You think you can take four Mandalorians?" A female's voice came from one of the helmets, but Jaina could not tell which. Two of the figures were relatively small, but one could have been a shorter man.

"I've done it before," She sneered. She tried to sense her lightsaber, but it was several metres away and...approaching?

Before Jaina could think of how to arm herself, the Mandalorians coursed with vicious torrents of green electricity and curled up into spasming crumpled masses of armour and weaponry. A rustling sound to Jaina's left revealed her brother wearing a severely stained extreme-weather suit, minus the helmet and one arm, and what looked like two yellow leaves folded over his eyes with a red vine tied around his head to hold them on. He floated all four Mandalorians together so they were side-by-side and tossed Jaina her lightsaber.

"Thanks – good work," Jacen said with a smile.

"You left me here unarmed to get attacked by Mandalorians?" Jaina asked.

"I needed a decoy," Jacen responded. He dropped to the ground exhausted. He pulled a survivor package up to him and dug his hand inside. After a moment of rummaging, he extracted a nutrient bar to snack on. "These aren't just any Mandalorians. This is my team."

"Your team?" Jaina was puzzled. "You hired Mandalorians to hunt us?"

Jacen faced his head at her for a moment, jaw slack in mid-chew. He swallowed the full quarter of nutrient bar in his mouth before responding.

"The team I infiltrated when I rescued Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara."

"Right," Jaina winced. "Oh, they won't be happy about this when they wake up."

"No," Jacen agreed. "Not at all. Though I feel guilty leaving them here on their own. I found their speeders and knocked Parmis out. He was guarding them, so I came back here and found you surrounded. We should bring them back there and wake Lanos up."

Jaina was slightly overwhelmed by her brother's causal reference to the Mandalorians, not to mention how much he seemed to care about the people who had threatened her life, but she found she could not entirely disagree with him.

"Okay," She sighed. "But let's do it quickly. I'm already starting to hate this rock."

* * *

Eriana slowly regained her consciousness with a slow grogginess that made her wonder if she was going to regret waking up. Details slowly filtered in from the attack through the fog surrounding her consciousness. The ship was damaged. There were hull breaches and critical system failures. Karth's turret was hit and he was not responding. Several ships were attacking. Nelani was screaming. The ship was out of control. Then she woke up here. Or did she? The feeling of lying on a cold hard slab of steel and several other sensory inputs across her body told her she was conscious, but her eyes were not telling her anything. Either they had stopped working, or she was in an extremely dark room. The Force offered little insight as nothing could be sensed beyond a couple metres around her. The one wall she could sense led directly into space, and the cracks she sensed along it were likely an indication that this room could easily be…vacated.

_Vaccuum on one side and Ysalamiri all around,_ Eriana thought to herself. _Someone must like me._

A painful shock from her eyeballs forced her to cover her face with her left arm, and she realized that her arm was bare when her soft skin touched her face. Her other hand touched her chest and her legs in a panic, confirming her fear that she was naked. It was not so much a fear of being seen naked as it was a dislike of people taking advantage of it.

_At least they didn't shave my head,_ she thought as she used the Force to adjust her eyes to the painful brilliance of the light that invaded her room. Lights flashed on inside the room and the door slid shut. She still cowered from the light, feigning an inability to see, but it did little good as the figure that entered the room waited several metres away by the door.

"Get up!" A man's voice shouted at her.

_And let you glare at me? _Eriana thought at him. _I don't think so._

"Me'takka prova satroi!" Eriana replied, saying random sounds in an attempt to make him think she did not understand Basic and could only speak a language he did not.

The man reached out with the Force and lifted her by the neck to choke her. She easily countered the crushing feeling on her oesophagus, but feigned the symptoms of being choked.

"Jedi scum," the man said, holding her up and looking up and down her body. "You are weak and pathetic. Some say we should turn you. _I_ think we should kill you."

"Look at…me again…I'll kill…you," Eriana grunted in response.

"Tisk, tisk." The man looked at her like a child, not as someone a few years older than him. "I would think you would be more grateful towards the man who pulled your body from the wreckage of that ship. I took you in, bathed you, and saved your life. I think you should pay me some…favours."

"I think…good idea…" Eriana said.

The man smiled. "Yes, go on…"

"Lie down," Eriana made a gesture and his head snapped to the side with a loud crack. She fell to the ground, easily catching her balance and went up to the lifeless body of the man who violated her dignity.

"Can't say I care for your manners," Eriana spat. "Or your tailor."

Five minutes later, the door opened again, this time revealing a woman. Eriana tugged a boot on, finally wearing all of the man's outer garments, and stood to face this new intruder. Unfortunately, as stupid as the dead man at her feet was, he was smart enough to leave his lightsaber outside, leaving Eriana weaponless.

"Ralry's failure only goes to show how valuable you will be once you join us," the new Sith, a Twi'lek, said. "Your master was a great Jedi, but you are a mere student. It is time you learn the real power of the Force."

_A student?_ Eriana thought with a mixture of annoyance and relief. _These guys have no idea who I am!_

"Was?" Eriana croaked. "You mean, Jacen's…?"

"Severely injured," the Twi'lek responded with a healthy measure of contempt. "We captured him on the surface barely clinging onto his pitiful life. He is spilling many secrets of the Jedi as we speak. He is no longer the boy he used to be."

_Liar,_ Eriana thought. _Jacen wouldn't talk even if you cut off his b…_

"All you need to know, young Jedi, is that you are among friends." she interrupted Eriana's thoughts with words and by producing delicate strands of lightning between her fingers. "My name is Jir'ca. I will be your guide in the ways of the Sith."

The lightning blasted Eriana against the wall, pinning her like a bug while energy coursed through her, spasming her muscles and causing her to scream. A second later she dropped to the ground.

"Some…friend…" Eriana panted. "My friends…help me…"

"And you help your friends, too?" Jir'ca sneered. "Like the two children you left to die in the ship? Their bodies weren't even worth removing before we destroyed that floating junkpile."

_Nelani!_ Eriana thought frantically. _I'm so sorry!_

"I will help you be strong, not weak like those children!" Jir'ca launched another blast of lightning at Eriana, forcing her to curl into a ball and scream in agony. Even though she knew it was coming, she could not defend herself.

Nelani's death hurt too much.

* * *

Admiral Wedge Antilles strolled onto the bridge of his flagship, the new Aurora-Class warship recently renamed _Gus Treta_, fully intent on finishing his inspection and handing the ship over to his first officer, Captain Cerb. The new warship was equipped with the latest technologies the Galactic Alliance had to offer, and Wedge was pleased to note that all systems were now fully operational and repaired after the turbulent forceful debarkation of the ship from the shipyard. More pleasant than the state of the ship was the state of the crew. Each crew member he spoke to was as top-notch as any he had served with. Unfortunately for Wedge, who longed to retire to his bunk after an exhausting eight hour inspection, his top-notch communications officer was almost _too_ good.

"Admiral," The Bothan communications officer called to Wedge. "You asked me to keep you updated on the Corellian situation."

"Go ahead," Wedge said wearily.

"Thracken Sal-Solo is gaining support. Suspected sympathy vote from the kidnapping of his daughter."

"That's…not what I wanted to hear, but…thank you."

Wedge turned away, his thoughts on Garm Bel Iblis's difficulty of managing his area of space with Corellia turning sides, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the communication console bleep behind him.

"Admiral, there is a report coming in from one of Booster Terrik's people!" The Bothan called. "They have the flight plan for a shipment of torpedoes and space mines heading for Fondor. The details include...this can't be right. One thousand torpedo emplacements and fifty thousand torpedoes?"

"They must have heard about my promotion," Wedge grinned, suddenly finding energy reserves he did not know he had. The communication officer handed him a datapad and he glanced over the entire transmission. Immediately a plan formed in his mind on how to capture the shipment. "Send a message to the Rebel Team signalling departure in five minutes. Have them calculate a jump to inter..."

"Admiral," The communications Bothan interrupted again. "We are receiving an urgent communication from Jedi Command."

"What does it say?" Wedge demanded.

"Decoding now," the Bothan replied.

Seconds stretched like minutes as Wedge tapped his fingers on the communication officer's chair.

"Got it," the Bothan said. "Giju is under attack. We are to send a fleet to assist them immediately."

Wedge chewed on his bottom lip and mulled over the situation. The Herglic were quick to side with the Jedi Federation once evidence of the Sith had come to light because of the slaughters they had suffered from Palpatine decades ago, and their manufacturing facilities were well received by the Jedi Coalition. Their proximity to Fondor and their passive nature made them a prime target for the enemy, especially with Wedge's fleets still clustered around Belgaroth awaiting the arrival of Kenth Hamner. At least Wedge's decision to divide his ships into five fleet divisions was going to prove useful, despite not having enough command-worthy officers to lead each division.

_Looks like you were wrong, Luke, _Wedge thought grimly. _Why _would_ they wait?_

"How long until Hamner gets here?" Wedge asked Captain Cerb.

"General Hamner's X-wing isn't scheduled to arrive for another sixteen hours," Cerb responded. "Sir, Captain Juteux of the _Kow'eti_ in the second division and I have the most command experience after yourself."

Wedge strode across the bridge and took the command chair, glad to have a captain who understood his thoughts. Wedge knew that, as good as his people were, very few had actual experience commanding anything larger than a squadron or a command ship. Aside from the most senior of Luke's people, virtually none had fleet command experience. While many of their people had experience commanding ships and fighter groups, very few fleet commanders were replaced throughout the Vong war.

"Signal the _Kow'eti_ and tell Captain Juteux to take command of the second and forth divisions for the Belgaroth defense fleet until the arrival of General Hamner," Wedge finally ordered. "Tell him the chance of an attack on Belgaroth is high and to implement defense pattern Beta. Next, inform the first and fifth divisions to form up on us and lay in a course to Giju."

Wedge played with the datapad for a few moments and handed it to Cerb.

"Captain, get over to the Interdictor _Jon'ka_ and take the third division to carry out this mission," Wedge said. "Capture that shipment and the third division will be your next command. Use caution: it could be a trap. I don't want to lose any ships, and I _really_ don't want to read a report about civilians being killed by one of our fleets. Let the civvies go, but not the goods. If they want to defect, bring 'em along but don't trust them."

"Understood, sir." Cerb saluted and departed at a run.

Wedge punched a button on his command chair and grimaced.

"All hands to battle stations," He ordered. "We're going to Giju to defend our allies from a Mandalorian-GA invasion fleet. Let's show them who they're messing with."

* * *

A gentle hand stroked a few long strands of dark hair back, waking the young Jedi as her ear was touched. She stirred slightly, waking up groggily to the face of a friendly-looking young man and jerked back when she recognized the face.

"Hi there, Nelani," The young man said. "Remember me?"

"Korman?" Nelani asked, correctly naming the one acquaintance she had made during her brief time among the Sith many years ago. "But you were on that planet when the Jedi..."

"I left with Lord Bulq," Korman replied with a gentle smile. "I was one of the few worth saving."

"Where am I?" Nelani asked, sitting up with Korman's assistance and taking in her surroundings. She was in a sparsely decorated room on a comfortable bed, with only a table, two chairs, and a plant filling the room.

"On the Mandalorian command carrier, _Tal Prudii_," Korman explained. "They asked me to help you reintegrate into the Sith Empire because we were close friends."

"Close?" Nelani asked, pulling her legs to her chest and hugging them in response to the deep fear welling up in her chest. "We barely knew each other! I was never a Sith!"

"You really don't remember?" Korman asked gently. "The whole plan? Your idea on gathering information?"

"What?" Nelani demanded. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Stang," Korman swore. "They said it would be difficult, but I didn't realize you would forget so much.

"You were our most prized student. You came up with an idea to infiltrate the Jedi in a way they would never suspect. Lord Bulq blocked your memories so even Skywalker wouldn't be able to find them and had you help Solo escape."

He put an arm around Nelani's shoulder, pulling her close despite her resistance.

"We were more than friends, Neli," Korman said softly, whispering in her ear. "And we'll be more soon enough. You'll see."

Nelani jumped up and crossed the room. When the door refused to open, she realized that nothing in the room could hold her attention long enough to keep her mind off Korman, not even the pathetic plastic plant in the corner. She finally turned back to Korman, unsuccessfully trying to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm not a Sith," Nelani stated. "I'm not your friend."

"Nel..."

"Get away from me!" Nelani shouted. "I want to see Karth and Eriana!"

"They're dead," Korman replied, causing Nelani's knees to buckle. She fell against the plant and the wall, sliding down the wall and staring at him in disbelief. "The kid was dead when we found him, and the other one put up a fight. We had to put her down like the dog she was.

"But it does not matter," Korman continued crouching down in front of her and grabbing her shoulder gently but firmly. She could not help but look into his eyes, despite wanting to be left alone in her grief. "They were weak and unworthy to be among us. But you; you will join us and you will be strong, just like before."

"Get _away_!" Nelani screamed. She shoved him across the room with the strongest telekinetic shove she had ever created. His body bounced off the wall and he fell to the ground limp.

"No!" Nelani cried. She crawled up to his body with tears streaming down her face and rolled him over. Between her sobs and with shaking hands, she tried to shake him to wake up and shouted at him to not be dead. Unknown to her, two people came in the room from behind her. One grabbed her and threw her bodily across the room onto the bed and pointed a blaster at her, and the other knelt beside Korman.

"He'll live," the second man said. He picked up Korman under the armpits and dragged him out of the room as the first man covered his retreat. A moment later the door slammed shut, leaving Nelani alone with the sounds of her sobs echoing off the empty walls.

* * *

Jacen removed his hand from Lanos's forehead and sat down on a log beside his sister to wait for the older man to revive. A few moments later Lanos put his own hand on his forehead and pulled himself to a sitting position.

"Hey, boss," Jacen said, waving to Lanos. He rolled to one knee and instinctively reached for the holster strapped to his leg that carried his reserve blaster. Jaina cleared her throat and waved the pistol she had pointing at him – his reserve blaster. The rest of his team's weapons were in two large piles on either side of the two Jedi.

"Bad idea, gramps," Jaina said. "Don't think for a second that my brother's leniency with you applies to me."

"Jaina, be nice," Jacen chided her. "Lanos, I'm sure you recognize me."

"Roshi," Lanos said. "I was wondering if we'd see each other again."

"I had a feeling we would," Jacen said casually, smirking at the mention of 'seeing.' "But I never expected it to be here. This is my sister, Jaina."

"Pleasure to meet you, sister Jaina. What happened to your head?"

"Retinas damaged. I'll be fine soon."

Lanos nodded to himself and looked at his team members sprawled at his feet, then back at the two Jedi. The ease of their defeat was not lost on him. "What now?"

"We have a mission to complete," Jacen said. "I'm obviously not going to let you guys get in the way, but I also don't want to hurt you. Any chance I can convince you to switch sides?"

Jaina looked at him like he had grown an extra head, but Lanos regarded him seriously.

"I'd follow _you_ in a heartbeat, son," Lanos said. "But I swore I'd never follow a Jedi. You cut us deep when you betrayed us. I understand your reasons, but the others aren't as forgiving as I am. Blade nearly assaulted Darth Krak for saying your name, and it took four of us and three tranquilizer darts to restrain her. We seriously considered killing her to stop her. Squeak has been more distant than ever, and Trigger cried for days after you left. It hasn't been easy on us. It would've been easier if I told them you died."

"Lanos, I know you hate the Jedi," Jacen said. "I know you're upset about thousands of years of wars long past. But I also know you're in danger every second you're allied with the Sith. How many more of your comrades have fallen while the Sith have led you compared to when you were on your own? Have the Sith really given you anything more than you had before? Is this alliance really worth the blood the Mandalorians have shed?"

Lanos regarded Jacen seriously for a moment and shook his head.

"You have my answer," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry," Jacen replied. "I'll stun you and leave you one of the speeders. You'll all wake up in a day or so."

"I suppose this is the benefit of crossing a Jedi?" Lanos smirked.

"Yeah," Jacen smiled back. "At least you will wake up."

"Anything to say to the others?"

"Tell them I'm sorry things had to turn out this way," Jacen said. "Wish them well for me."

Lanos nodded grimly and Jacen launched a blast of emerald energy at his unprotected face, stunning him on his feet. Jacen gently laid Lanos down with telekinesis, and crossed the clearing to replace the helmet on his former squad leader. He ensured all his former comrades were safe, comfortable, and that their weapons were accounted for before jumping in the speeder with his sister and leaving them behind again.

* * *

Four Mandalorians wandered around a perfectly silent, immobile and non-threatening YT-2300 emblazed with the words "Solo Quest" just below the cockpit, trying to figure a way inside. After the attack, the ship was pulled into the docking bay and a team of Sith Lords had gone in to extract the two unconscious females and reported a dead male Devaronian – which they could still see from above the ship in the damaged top gunner turret. Since then, the ship had mysteriously sealed itself and refused to allow anyone in.

"E-Web?" One of the Mandalorians in blue, Duby, asked.

"Might hit a power conduit and blow ourselves up," D'Gider, the technician in black armour warned, pointing to various components on the ship that were not in stock locations. "This thing's been rewired in more ways than a hundred-year-old garbage scow. Who knows where the conduits run?"

"That rules out explosives, too," Gustry, the explosives technician in red, supplied as he ran a scanner across the hull. "The whole thing is shielded with some magnetic field I can't scan through. I couldn't tell you if there was a torpedo bay or a refresher unit behind here."

"Well how do we get into it?" Neur, the commander in gold armour, demanded.

The three technicians exchanged glances.

"We'll figure something out," Duby said. A second later a blaster bolt lanced out of a hidden port on the ship and sliced through his helmet. He fell to the ground with a metallic clank, and the other Mandalorians scattered for shelter.

Inside the _Solo Quest_, an astromech assassin droid spoke to the Vornskr at his side with a sadistic tone of voice that nearly every other droid ever created had lacked.

"Reflection: Not bloody likely, meatcans."


	7. 12 Days

**AN: This one is a bit on the long side compared to most I've written, but a lot needed to happen on this day. Please enjoy responsibly and review unreservedly.**

* * *

**12 Days...**

_Holonet Galactic News with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"The Jedi Order has issued a statement denouncing the actions of a Mandalorian fleet that allegedly attacked one of their allied planets equipped with only minimal defenses. Mandalorian spokesperson Marvis Cree said the fleet alleged to have attacked Giju was on training manoeuvres over a lightyear away, casting doubt on the Jedi's announcement.

"As the Jedi amass an armada and deploy themselves across the galaxy, the remaining senators are demanding more ships to defend their territories against the inevitable Jedi assaults.

"To deter the Jedi actions, orders have been issued to law enforcement agencies galaxy-wide by Chief of State Omas to arrest and detain all Jedi anywhere in the galaxy. Some senators are demanding greater measures, but Chief Omas is resisting the elevation of perceived hostilities. Please stay tuned for continued coverage."

* * *

Tahiri suppressed a yawn as she lay on her bed with a datapad, watching the sunlight slowly intrude upon her bed chamber. Another night had gone by with the datapads full of information stolen from Soora's office refusing to let sleep, insisting instead on driving her toward finding the mole among the Jedi at all costs. The sunlight reminded her of just how tired she was without two nights of sleep. Last night she was too tired to put her night clothes on. Instead she had stripped out of her clothes, dropped them on the floor with her lightsaber still attached, and collapsed on her bed in her undergarments. She spent the first hour tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep, but the importance of the datacards weighed too heavily on her. She resigned to the fact that she _knew_ the answer was there waiting for her, and that she would not get any sleep until she found it.

As she lay in bed reading, the sun crept up outside the window, slowly crawling across the floor and up her bed, and finally stretching up the wall. As the light took over her room, she finally realized how tired her eyes were.

She sighed and allowed the datapad to flop against her chest as she closed her eyes for a moment to rest them. With her left hand she massaged her eyelids and tried to summon the courage to do anything but lie in bed all day. Resigning to the fact that she had stuff to do, she lifted the datapad and took another look at it. The brief contact with her chest had scrolled the text to some random point, causing her to sigh again knowing that she would have to search for her place when she started again.

Tahiri hoisted herself to sit on the bed and reached up high, stretching the muscles in her back, shoulders, and neck that had grown stiff from the long night of reading. She took another glance at her datapad out of despair and almost tossed it aside when the words "Zizo" and "Hapes" caught her eye. Suddenly wide awake, she read the paragraph her cursor was blinking on, taking in the information like a sponge soaking up water. It was a record of the holonet servers that a holo-recording sent nearly four months earlier had traveled to reach Soora. She immediately recognized the file name when she saw it, and frantically searched through the stack of datacards on her bedside table until she found the one she was looking for. With her excitement rising, it took two failed attempts to put the datacard in the correct way before she could play the file. It was the one she had watched with Soora, Darth Krak, and Urik just after Jacen had disappeared. She noticed something she had not seen before among the assembly of Jedi as they discussed the disappearance of Luke, Mara, and Jacen. The person sitting in front of the holoimager wore her hair in braids; braids Tahiri knew well. Braids that were designed by Anakin Solo over ten years ago to be woven with one hand.

"Tenel Ka?" Tahiri whispered to herself in disbelief. "It can't be you."

Her heart pounded as she double-checked the other file, ensuring what she read was accurate. The file had indeed been sent from the Fountain Palace on Hapes through various channels to disguise the point of origin. She re-watched the holovideo again in disbelief, carefully looking at Tenel Ka's head throughout the entire video as if to find a trace of doubt that it was not her friend sitting in front of the holo imager, but her suspicions were only confirmed when Tenel Ka turned her head at the entrance of Cal Omas and her face was momentarily visible. On her third time through the video, Tahiri's eye caught a round, shiny fastener woven into her hair that seemed to sporadically reflect the image of the person taking the video.

A knock at her door startled her, almost making her toss the datapad into the air and scream, but she maintained her composure.

"What?" She demanded, annoyed enough by the interruption that she did not have to fall into her role as Sith Lord.

"Lord Treulos," a young voice she did not recognize responded. She could hear the fear in his voice through the door. "Lord Krak has requested to speak to you."

"I will be there when I'm there!" She snapped. "Do you think your message is more important to me than my sleep?"

After she sensed the terrified messenger depart from her door, she returned her attention to the datapad and set it to zoom in on the fastener in Tenel Ka's hair, determined to find out who the person taking the video was. Three quarters of the way into the video, she finally found a clear picture of the face and realized she did not know the identity of the young, intelligent-looking girl she discovered recording the video behind Tenel Ka.

* * *

With Leia in a healing trance, Danny's right arm in a splint, and a nasty concussion throwing her off balance, Mara Jade counted everyone aboard the _Jade Shadow_ lucky to be alive. Her ship, however, was in worse shape than the passengers. After yanking the ship out of hyperspace using a gravity well projector, the Mandalorian attack completely destroyed one sublight engine, damaged the other, took out the subspace radio, and fractured the hull in at least a dozen places. Relatively repairable, but difficult under the circumstances. The circumstances being that they were stranded on a desolate planet that Danni had blind-jumped to in order to escape the attack. Thankfully, the Mandalorians were in the process of powering down the gravity well, having almost given up their search for whatever they were seeking. With the gravity well generator powered down, the _Jade Shadow_ was able to escape.

Mara had made it to the cockpit just after Danni had dropped the ship out of hyperspace. The younger woman's right arm hung limp to the ground while she lay across the pilot's seat trying to work the controls. After Mara removed her from pilot seat, she spotted a nasty patch of discolouration on Danni's collar bone that told her more than she needed to know. Obviously Danni had been thrown from the pilot's seat in the attack and cracked her collar bone against something in the process. It was a testament to her determination that she had been able to do what she had done.

With the damaged ship caught in the planet's gravity well, Mara had to guide it to a safe landing. She almost succeeded, until the point where the ground met the ship. Like all landings, the point of contact with the ground was the point of success or failure. The trees certainly did not help, and the resulting crash landing sent Mara head-first into the control panel – hence the concussion.

Mara had woken up hours later to find Danni trying to prepare some food, and Leia lying in the reclined navigator seat, deep in a healing trance. The torn clothes and amount of blood staining the right side of her rib cage brought on a new wave of nausea to Mara.

Hours later, Mara sat on top of the ship, running over the events of the last day in her mind as she stared into the badly damaged circuitry of the subspace transceiver. Danni was looking at the damaged sublight engine, clumsily poking at things with her left hand, and Leia was still in her healing trance. Mara could sense the level of guilt wafting off the blonde-haired girl and finally gave up on the destroyed transceiver. She slid down the hull and landed softly on a downed tree trunk, relying on the Force to keep her balance.

"It wasn't your fault," Mara said to Danni. "If I was in the pilot's seat, there's not much else I could've done."

"True," Danni said without looking up. "But at least you'd be the one feeling guilty."

"What makes you think I don't?" Mara asked. "How does it look?"

"Better than the other one," Danni said, finally tearing her eyes off the damaged engine and gesturing at it helplessly. "We can fix it. It'll get us moving, but I don't know if it'll have enough power to get us out of the atmosphere. I won't be much help with my arm like this though."

"We'll get..." Mara's lightsaber flared to life, cutting off her own words. A second later, five sets of glowing red eyes appeared from just inside the tree line, followed by blue-skinned faces and arrows tightly drawn in bows.

"Are we glad to see you!" Danni exclaimed. "We were on our way to Csilla..."

One of the Chiss cut her off with a word she did not understand.

"Danni, I don't think these are the Chiss we're looking for," Mara said, deactivating her lightsaber and surrendering it to the aliens.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Jacen hissed from the door. "They're coming!"

"I can't find anything!" Jaina hissed back. Womprat's decryption routine had sliced into the computer system easily, but Jaina was quickly finding out that no data existed on an advanced power generator. "They either moved it or put it on a separate server!"

"We snuck all the way across the planet, into this facility, dodged ysalamiri and Mandalorian patrols and now you're telling me it was all for _nothing_?" Jacen demanded.

A hopeless feeling made Jaina's stomach sink. "Looks that way. But...what is _this_?"

"What?" Jacen demanded.

"Video files," Jaina said. "They're labelled 'Sal-Solo' and..."

"Just copy them so we can get out of here!" Jacen ordered.

"Right," Jaina agreed. "Then I'm launching the virus..."

"Freeze!" A Mandalorian shouted from the door a few hand-spans away from Jacen. His blaster was pointed at Jacen's forehead, and the trooper behind him had a blaster pointed at Jaina.

"Well, I can't see anything, so I guess you have an ysalamiri," Jacen said seemingly casually, but his comment was able to warn his sister not to do anything stupid. Still several metres away, outside the ysalamiri bubble, she raised her hands but kept her eyes on the computer. A moment later the data transfer finished, allowing her to telekinetically hit some keys to launch the virus, and finally yank the data card out. It disappeared down her shirt just as one of the Mandalorians grabbed her arm, yanked her around and pressed a blaster against her head.

"Nothing fancy, Jedi," He ordered, removing her lightsaber from her belt and shoving her towards her brother within the ysalamiri field. The other Mandalorian had already retrieved Jacen's newly built – and untested – lightsaber and clipped it onto his belt.

"Seriously, man," Jacen said, reaching out blindly, smearing his hot and sweaty hands on the Mandalorian's visor while still leaning heavily against the doorframe. "I can't see a thing. What's going on?"

Jaina pulled him away from the Mandalorian before he was hit and put her arm around his waist to lead him out of the room. He put his arm around her shoulders and, to her discomfort, put most of his weight on her. Outside was a squad of Mandalorians, two of which had frames strapped to their backs. Jaina knew these frames housed the Force-repulsing ysalamiri which currently prevented her from touching the Force.

"You're going to a cell," One of the Mandalorians said. "Until Lord Sekava comes to retrieve you."

"So this was a trap," Jacen mused. "The whole thing about the power generator. You knew they'd send us."

"Yes," The Mandalorian said. "And you walked right into it."

"It's easy to when you're blind." Jacen said, stumbling on an uneven stone in the floor.

* * *

The summer on Hapes produced a hot, humid four month period that left the majority of the population uncomfortable and irritable as they bustled about their business in the sweltering heat. Most Hapans growled about the heat as much as they growled about the equally uncomfortable winter despite nearly every establishment having climate-controlling devices to make the occupants comfortable. One particular Hapan found summer to be the most enjoyable and memorable season since it reminded her of her years living on a humid jungle moon many lightyears away, many years ago. As on this night, as she had on every night with a clear sky, she would stand on her tenth storey bedroom balcony in Fountain Palace and stare up at the one star in the night sky she had memorized the location of – Yavin. If anyone had been permitted to join her on these night time viewings of that distant star, they might say this was time when she practiced the rarely-used skill known as "smiling."

Tenel Ka smiled one last time at the recounting of a memory of Jacen falling from a tree while chasing an elusive crystal snake, and she went back into her bedroom. One habit she picked up during her time on Yavin IV was to enjoy the cool night breeze playing over her body as she slowly fell asleep, which meant she often slept with the tall balcony doors open. Given that her security details were fiercely loyal to her, and that her Jedi senses often warned her of danger before the guards could, she had no fear of her own safety with two frosted transparisteel doors being left open on her balcony.

She gracefully rolled onto her bed and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling and wondering where Jacen had gotten himself to and what he was doing now. A part of her longed for the carefree days of their youth when they would travel to other planets, face bounty hunters and certain death on daring adventures...and not have to worry about squabbling politicians and scheming family members. Ever since Jacen had left, she found her thoughts often drifted to her oldest friend, but tonight a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" She called, and her assistant Ali entered.

"My apologies, my queen," Ali started, "But there is an urgent communication from Jedi Solo."

"Thank you, Ali." Tenel Ka leapt from her bed and threw on a robe over her night clothes, but stopped the moment she reached the door.

"Your highness?" Ali asked.

Tenel Ka's mind reached out and yanked her lightsaber from across the room to her hand and ignited the brilliant grey blade.

"Run, Ali!" Tenel Ka ordered, turning to face her open balcony doors. "I sense danger."

Three ropes dropped from above, and a moment later three people in dark outfits dropped into view, blasters targeting the Jedi Queen.

Before the intruders could open fire, a sharp pain in Tenel Ka's neck and a burning sensation that spread quickly down her body made her world go black.

"Yeah, that would be me," Ali said grimly.

* * *

The torture of a Jedi is never an easy thing. First and foremost, a Jedi's connection to the Force is, beyond compare, among their most powerful defense against physical anguish. With the Force, a Jedi can summon strength, dull nerves, enter hibernation trances, or even counter-attack against their taskmaster. Thankfully, one very simple tool exists that can render a Jedi without the Force; an ysalamiri. The ysalamiri, a small rodent native to Myrkr, repulses the Force in a bubble around itself, which it uses as a defense against the Vornskrs, the large wild Force-sensitive canine predators from the same planet as the ysalamiri. The ysalamiri do not like being taken from their homes, and, even if they are, the tree in which they take their nutrients from must come with them and must be supplied with food to keep the ysalamiri alive. This deficiency had been overcome many years previously by Grand Admiral Thrawn, and had since become widespread knowledge, making acquiring an ysalamiri a relatively easy task for the Mandalorians and Sith wanting to restrain Jedi.

However, the Force is not a Jedi's only defense.

A Jedi's training is very intense, both mentally and physically. A Jedi is taught to cope with physical pain and to build walls inside their head to guard themselves against both intrusion and despair. Even without the Force, various meditation and focusing techniques a Jedi learns can be used by them to keep their perspective and sanity among even the worst duress.

And that describes a normal Jedi.

Eriana Fostenon, apprentice under the tutelage of Jacen Solo, seemed able to withstand the very best efforts of the Sith to break her.

But that did not stop them from putting her through hell.

"Stop! Stop!" She screamed as the Sith blasted her lower body with a brilliant display of Force lightning that burned at the nerves in her legs and caused the muscles to spasm and throw her body around against the restraints holding her chest and arms firmly against the wall of her cell. The ysalamiri had been positioned to block the Force in her upper body only, effectively cutting off her brain's ability to access the Force. Without the brain connected to the Force, a Jedi could not wield it. "Please! Stop!" Eriana cried out.

"Feel the call of the Dark Side of the Force!" Her torturer shouted over the noise. "Know the only way to be set free is to follow it!"

After a few more minutes of Force lightning, Jir'ca finally stopped when Eriana started to sob.

"Cling onto your despair, child," Jir'ca whispered menacingly. "Hold it dear and find the anger to unleash your power."

"Let me out," Eriana cried. "Please...please..."

"Wrong answer." Jir'ca went to the table on which she had deposited several objects when she entered the room and unraveled a bundle of cloth. Eriana caught the glimpse of metal, but did not see anything more until Jir'ca extracted a long, thin throwing knife. "I think it is time to try a new approach."

Jir'ca threw the blade with uncanny speed, and pain seared up Eriana's left leg. She screamed and tried to resist looking down, but she caught a glimpse of the thin blade of metal protruding just above the knee and felt the blood drain from her face.

"You psychotic bantha licker!" Eriana screamed. "That was my good knee!"

Jir'ca merely laughed. She took another object and threw it against the wall to Eriana's right. To Eriana's surprise, it stuck. A moment later, the metal around it started to glow and the intense heat traveled to her body.

"Your knee will soon be the worst of your concerns," Jir'ca said, extracting another throwing knife with a grin Eriana did not like at all. "But there is an easy way out. All you must do is join us."

"I'm not there yet," Eriana spat.

"Good." Jir'ca grinned. "More fun for me."

* * *

Luke sat in his new office aboard the _Yoda_ with a desk covered in reports that had come in from various allies across the Jedi Federation bringing a mixture of surprise and gratitude. The information appeared as concrete as any he had ever seen, and the ease at which the Jedi assets deployed themselves would have pleased even the most demanding commanders. Beings sympathetic to the Jedi had supplied information readily and willingly from things like production schedules, planetary garrison assets, to extremely valuable information like complete schematics and crew rosters of ships. Octa's growing division of four intelligence sifters had filtered out relevant data for her, and Octa sent the most relevant data to Luke, the Admirals and the Generals for use in planning operations and analysing enemy activity through secure transmissions.

After Luke assessed the data himself, he sent suggestions on what courses of action to take to his commanders to ensure that Jedi policy would be followed as to not conflict with the political agendas he was constructing. Sometimes an encrypted message would suffice. With Wedge, Luke felt a more personal touch was needed.

"Attacking a civilian transport was _not_ what we agreed on, Wedge!" Luke shouted at the holodisplay. "What part of playing things defensively did you not understand?"

"Give me some credit, Luke," Wedge countered. "None of the civilians were harmed and they were sent on their way in shuttles. The fleet dropped in, raised the interdiction field and threatened them into giving up their shipments. Some of them even defected to our side! And now we have the materials to build a permanent defense grid for Belgaroth that otherwise would have been used against us at Fondor. _And_ we defended Giju with only three percent of our ships being damaged. Repairs will be..."

"Wedge," Luke stopped him and sighed. "I never thought I'd have to demote someone for being _too_ successful."

"Can I finish my report?"

"Quickly, before I call Kenth and have you flying evac recovery shuttles," Luke snapped, already trying to figure out how he was going to dig himself out of this political mess.

"The torpedo and mine shipment was classified," Wedge grinned, despite Luke's miserable mood. "Booster found out about it because a subsidiary of one of his fake companies was sourced to make the targeting computer modules for the torpedo turrets. There will be no official report or political backlash unless the GA wants to admit they were building weapons months _before_ hostilities erupted – building weapons with resources that should have been devoted for rebuilding efforts elsewhere."

"Are you sure?" Luke sat up straight and looked closely at Wedge's face for any hint of deception.

"I can get all the documentation you want from Booster," Wedge said. "And anything he doesn't have, he can make look official enough."

Luke looked ready to go from skeptical to angry when Wedge cut him off.

"Think about it, Luke! It takes _time_ to produce that much military hardware!" Wedge exclaimed. "There's no way they could have produced a thousand torpedo turrets and all those mines in a few weeks. From what Booster told me, that order dates back _four_ _months_! Give me three days and I'll have that purchase order in your hands."

Luke sighed and shook his head. "I thought Ben would've been the one to make me go grey."

"I'm just softening you up for him." Wedge grinned broadly. "Anything else, Chief?"

"Yeah, don't call me 'Chief,'" Luke said sarcastically and consulted a datapad. "See if you can get some operatives into Fondor to keep an eye on what's going on there. If they were sending in torpedo turrets and a mine field, something big must be going on. The Thyferrians are demanding we augment their defense forces, as are Yag'Dhul and Bespin. I suggest using your mines and some of those turrets at Yag'Dhul. If we can cut off both trade routes at the meeting point, the GA will feel it. I can get you some Hapan gravity mines as well."  
"Sounds good," Wedge agreed. "I'll relocate some Interdictors in the meantime. And, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not demoting me. Yub, yub."

Before Luke could think of a response, Wedge flashed a grin and cut the transmission. Luke grinned despite his frustration and started writing a transmission to Garm Bel Iblis about an asteroid mining operation near Nubia that could be a source of raw materials when the ship lurched, sending Luke tumbling from his desk.

Luke got his feet under him and ran to the door which led directly to the bridge. Lowbacca was already at the helm growling furiously at the controls and Luke stumbled his way to the command chair.

"What's going on?"

[Mandalorians!] Lowie growled. [Engines are online now.]

"Take us out! Arm weapons!" Luke shouted at… "Ben! What are you doing here?"

Ben froze with his eyes wide. "Uhh…"

[The work crews went home for the night. We're the only three on the ship!] Lowie barked as he piloted the ship out of the dry-dock at full throttle. [Orders are coming in from Pelleaon – He has taken command of the fleet and he wants us to focus our attack on the command ship.]

Luke jabbed the tactical display button with his finger and a three-dimensional hologram of the fleet layout appeared in a metre cube space in front of him. The Imperial and Jedi ships greatly outnumbered the Mandalorian fleet, but the twenty-seven Mandalorians were driving a spear point into the defense fleet directly at the shipyards with a ship three times the mass of an Imperial Star Destroyer at its tip spewing torpedoes like confetti.

[They're after the shipyards,] Lowie said, seeing the approach vector at the same time as Luke.

"No, they're not," Luke replied. "They're after the Jedi Temple."

* * *

If it was not for the lightsaber at his waist and the angry look on his face that one could swear would dent durasteel, Captain Leurk would not have allowed this _boy_ aboard his ship, much less allow him the delusion of importance. He had arrived not an hour before, demanding to see the status of the prisoners. After he had killed seventeen Mandalorians in what one might call a temper tantrum, Captain Leurk and the other Sith were summoned. The few Sith who were members of Leurk's crew had immediately confirmed this newcomer's authority, and Leurk had no choice but to grant the request. Or, demand, as one might call it.

Leurk stood beside the man who called himself Lord Sekava, examining the holodisplays of two rooms in the main internal security office. Under Sekava's insistence, and telekinesis, the room had been evacuated of all other personnel so he could watch the progress of the two Jedi captives with the captain.

"Kill her," Sekava said, pointing to the display showing a blond woman shackled to a wall being repeatedly assaulted with lightning.

"Lord Sekava?" The captain asked, genuinely confused. His orders from above were specifically not to kill the prisoners.

"This girl should be turned," Sekava continued, as if he did not hear the Mandalorian speak. "Get your best people on it."

"Yes, absolutely," Leurk agreed sceptically. His best people _were_ on it. On both cases. His orders had come from Soora Bulq himself, and those were orders he did not want to defy.

"I will want to torture that girl myself," He pointed at the display of the black-haired girl. "You are being too soft."

"Absolutely," Leurk agreed, already formulating a plan to space this lunatic at the first opportunity and make it look like an accident.

Both men stared at the displays for several moments in silence before Sekava turned to Leurk.

"Well?"

"Sorry, sir, I was lost in my thoughts," Leurk responded, carefully hiding his impatience and confusion. "What was it you wanted?"

"Give me your status report!" Sekava demanded.

"Yes, well, the blonde, Eriana, is putting up a good fight, but your people insist her resolve is weakening," Leurk said. "They tell me she will turn within the week. We told her her companions had already betrayed her or were dead, so she feels alone and helpless."

"Excellent," Sekava commended. "Continue your work on her. And the other?"

"Nelani is being stubborn," Leurk said. "We are taking a different approach with her, convincing her of her allegiance to us without violence."

"Good work," Sekava said thoughtfully.

"We hope that after turning one of them, we will be able to turn the others we found on the surface."

"Bring me to my quarters. I will rest now," Sekava said, seemingly unconcerned about anything they had just discussed.

"Yessir," Leurk said, leading Sekava out of the security room.

* * *

Not even a minute after Womprat finished installing the wireless hookup to the _Solo Quest_'s central computer did his sensors – or more accurately, the ship's sensors – detect the return of the three meatcans trying to break into the ship. The information sent by the optical sensors was analyzed by the extensive threat assessment database that he had compiled over the last few thousand years and identified the piping and canisters being carried by the Mandalorians as neurotoxin reserves and a suitable deployment system. Half a second after making this determination, Womprat scanned the external hull for possible entry sites and located the fist-sized hole in the armour above the training area that had forced his master to abandon ship. While other minor holes had been formed in the hull during the battle, the magnetic shielding protecting the hull from cutting torches, lightsabers, and meatbag physical contact spanned those holes and sealed the ship. This one hole, however, was too large for the field to traverse and maintain full shield integrity.

Basically, there was a hole right into the ship the meatcans could shove a tube into.

Had Womprat not been a droid, he would have cared.

Unfortunately, there was a particularly vicious Vornskr on board who, while being immune to most neurotoxins, could become very irritable in the presence of them and was rather favoured by the master. Before Womprat could use the internal scanners to locate Astro, the Vornskr appeared at his side, head cocked to the side in a manner that Womprat had associated with a mixture of confusion and an un-droid-like danger sense.

"Warning: The meatcans are trying to gas us out. I suggest you take cover in the master's chambers."

Astro whined and pawed at the floor, and then gave a sharp bark.

"Resignation: Yes, I promise to unlock the doors after they are gone."

With another bark, Astro ran down the corridor towards Jacen's room while Womprat rolled off in the opposite direction. He linked with the ship's security system, overrode Jacen's door and sealed the room after the sensors told him Astro had safely entered. Next, he used the up-link to power down the lighting in the training area. He wheeled past the doors that were still jammed open, despite Jacen's attempts to close them, and positioned himself directly below the hole which now had a ten centimetre diameter white hose sticking through it. His acute auditory sensors could detect the faint hissing of a gas and the commands being shouted between the Mandalorians outside the ship. According to his sensors, they had positioned a crane above the ship, as to avoid contact with the magnetic shielding, and they were just about to activate the full flow rate of the gas.

_Self-congratulation: Perfect timing._

Womprat activated the magnetic lock on his two legs and rotated his barrel-shaped body so it was parallel to the floor. Four compartments opened to reveal two high powered blasters modified for use in an astromech casing for both accuracy and power. The other two compartments revealed a grenade launcher and a multispectral shielding unit. A faint orange umbrella emitted itself from the shielding unit, and nanoseconds ticked by in which Womprat sincerely hoped that this neurotoxin, like so many he was familiar with, was indeed flammable.

As soon as the gas flow increased exponentially, Womprat expertly launched a plasma grenade into the white tube, and fired both blasters at the mathematically perfect moment. The resulting explosion, roughly 0.52342 metres away from the ship, not only sent the first Mandalorian soaring several metres through the air in a roughly ballistic trajectory, but also ignited the gas in the tube, thereby igniting the gas in the connected tank, causing it to explode and detonate the other gas tanks. The secondary and tertiary explosions sent one of the other two Mandalorians against the other and together they flew through the air approximately 17.95877 metres where they landed quite solidly against several crates of foodstuffs that were scattered upon impact.

As per Womprat's calculations, the backblow from the plasma grenade had launched a stream of fire through the hole in the shielding toward him. His multispectral shielding unit absorbed the damage easily without causing any noteworthy damage to either droid nor ship. Ship sensors showed the rest of the ship was unscathed, thanks to the magnetic shielding.

"Disappointed remark: Oh, dear," Womprat said upon further examination of the sensors. "None of the meatcans expired."

* * *

Jacen and Jaina stumbled into the badly lit stone walled cell like a pair of conjoined twins connected at the hip. Jacen fell painfully to his shoulder when his foot hit a misplaced cobblestone, but Jaina was able to maintain her balance as he tumbled to the floor.

"Well isn't this wonderful?" Jaina asked as the door slammed shut behind them.

She looked at her brother when he did not respond.

"Jacen?"

She rushed up to his side and slapped his face.

"Jacen, wake up!"

He woke with a start.

"What happened?"

"You passed out," Jaina said. "I guess you hit your head."

"No," Jacen replied. "I-I'm just tired."

"You've been looking pretty tired lately," Jaina said. "What's wrong?"

"Noth-"

Before he could finish, Jaina slapped him again.

"Well," Jacen grimaced, rubbing his face. "I haven't really been sleeping lately."

"Why not?" Jaina demanded. She pulled him up a bit against her.

Jacen winced and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"A Sith amulet," Jacen said. "It won't let me sleep."

"A _what_?" Jaina exclaimed. She slapped him again for good measure. "Why in Palpatine's name are you wearing a Sith amulet? How long? Since you were with the Mandos?"

"Longer," Jacen winced. "Before I came back. Over a year now. It keeps me awake all the time. I've been using the Force to keep me going to counter the side effects of being awake constantly..."

"But there's no Force in here," Jaina finished. "No wonder you're exhausted all the time! A year without sleep! Jacen, what kind of idiot uses a Sith amulet? Take that thing off!"

"I can't," Jacen weakly. "Literally. I've tried. I've done everything I can think of – it fused itself to my ribcage under the skin. I've had Eriana break my connection to the Force, I used heavy sedatives, hit it with a lightsaber blade, and even tried getting Womprat to blast it off with shaped explosives. Nothing works. Not even Ysalamiri. It operates on a different spectrum of the Force from what an Ysalamiri blocks. It also strengthens the bones around it, so I couldn't even cut the ribs away if I wanted."

"So it just keeps you awake all the time?"

"No," Jacen said. "And yes. It is designed to maintain consciousness no matter what so a Sith could not be killed in their sleep. That way the apprentice can't take out the master before he really is ready. Normally a Sith's rage would keep him going, but...I don't quite work that way. I'm suffering from extreme sleep deprivation. I can pass out for a moment if I lose concentration on the meditations I use to keep me going, but then I'll wake up again. It also heals me if I can't get into a healing trance myself. That's how I survived the meld with Sekot – this thing kept me alive. It is capable of movement too. It looks like a small scarab. It senses the most capable person of being a Sith and tries to latch on. That's why Astro wouldn't let anyone near me after Sekot – if I was near dead, it would look for a new host. I needed it to heal me."

After a moment of silence Jaina finally asked the obvious question. "Why would you put that thing on?"

"I didn't know what it was!" Jacen wheezed desperately. "It was given to me as a necklace on a chain from a group of settlers Eriana and I helped relocate. We found a Sith holocron on that planet, and when I tried accessing it, the holocron connected with the amulet and it woke up while I was wearing it. The damned thing fused itself to me before I could do anything. Now _all_ the holocrons think I'm a Sith."

"'All?'" Jaina asked. "How many holocrons do you have?"

Jacen put his head on his hand. Without the Force to keep his focus, his exhaustion was letting his mind slip. "A few. I've accessed information on them that no Jedi ever could have, but I still can't find a way to remove this thing. I've _tried_."

"Okay, up you get," Jaina commanded, pulling her brother to his feet. "Let's get some food in you."

"What's the room like?" Jacen asked in a forced conversational tone.

"Dark, dank, dismal," Jaina replied as she helped him into a chair and assessed the food on the table. "The usual prison."

"That brings back memories," Jacen said, taking a chunk of something from his sister and sniffing it cautiously.

"Which ones?" Jaina snorted.

"The Shadow Academy comes to mind," Jacen said. He took a tentative bite from the food and grimaced. "The Vong. Hethrir. Anoat."

"Anoat?" Jaina asked. "That was our nursery."

"It still felt like a prison to me," Jacen muttered. "Surveillance?"

"Nothing I can see," Jaina walked around the room slowly, examining every corner of the room. "It looks they threw a heavy door in place to use this as a prison at the last minute and surrounded us with Ysalamiri. Wait."

"What?" Jacen asked.

"I can feel the Force," Jaina said.

"How is that possible?" Jacen tried standing up and following her voice but collapsed from the exertion. She rushed over as he woke up again, and half-dragged him over to where she had been standing.

"Oh, there it is," Jacen said. He perked up suddenly like a droid with a fresh charge.

"Yeah, but it's not like this can… Whoa! What are you doing?" Jaina exclaimed as her brother hoisted himself up and sat cross-legged in mid air.

"Well, obviously the Ysalamiri aren't reaching here," Jacen said, rotating slowly in the air. "Maybe I can use this bubble to push back."

"Push back against the Ysalamiri?" Jaina asked. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Jacen admitted. "But I'd rather try and fail than wait here until the Sith come back and shoot us."

His face compressed in concentration for a moment. After a moment of tentative resistance, he gasped and crashed to the floor. The impact and the sudden removal of the Force almost knocked him out again. He woke up as Jaina helped him stand and put him into the Force bubble as best she could.

"They didn't like that," Jacen commented, rubbing his tailbone. "I can force them, but it's going to take a lot of effort. I'll need you to unbolt the door when I tell you to. I won't be able to do both."

"Just tell me when," Jaina said, moving to the door to wait as he hoisted himself back into the air.

"It'll take a while," Jacen said, preparing himself for the effort. "And it won't be easy. You might want to pull up a chair."

* * *

A soft knock at her door made Nelani snap out of her weak meditation trance and look for the source of the sound. Korman leaned against the frame looking like he was in a lot of pain, but she could sense his strength in the Force. Strength pulled from the dark side.

"Are you okay?" Nelani asked, still embarrassed by her outburst.

"It takes more than that to kill a Lord of the Sith," Korman said with a flashy smile. "Forget about it. You're just remembering who you are. Who you were meant to be."

Nelani pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her eyes against her knees.

"That's not me," she croaked.

"Sure it is," Korman said reasonably, crossing the room and sitting on a chair a couple metres away from her. "It came naturally to you. Emotions are as natural to us as breathing. Accept them. And _use_ them."

Nelani's thoughts traced back to a similar conversation she had with Eriana…a painful conversation to recall. A mixture of grief over her fallen friend and the confusion in her heart made it too painful to remember the valuable lessons she had been taught.

"That's…no," Nelani said, falling back on her Jedi teachings. "Emotions lead to irrationality. It's not the Jedi way."

"Well, there's a very easy solution to that," Korman said. "You're not a Jedi."

"Yes I am!" Nelani declaired, finally looking him in the eye. "I've been trained as a Jedi! I don't know anything else!"

"Jedi don't chuck people against walls in a fit of anger," Korman pointed out smartly. "You're much less the Jedi than you think you are."

"I…no…" Nelani's voice trailed off as she buried her face again.

"Here, let me show you something." Korman handed her a datapad. "Do you know what this is?"

Nelani looked up again.

"Go on, take it." Korman wagged the datapad. "It won't bite."

Reluctantly, Nelani took the datapad and scanned the contents. They were reports…about the Jedi. Even without knowing the information contained on the datapad, she knew this was information Master Skywalker would not want known.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Stuff you sent me," Korman said smugly. "Don't you remember?"

"What?" A black hole had suddenly taken the place of her stomach, and her guts seemed to be getting sucked into it. "I…I never…! It couldn't be me! I'd _know_! I didn't even know half this stuff existed!"

"It was all part of the conditioning," Korman explained gently. "You were to gather and send us information and suppress those memories so even Skywalker couldn't force it out of you. You were our mole. And you were brilliant at it."

"This is wrong," Nelani threw the datapad at Korman. "I did _not_ do that. I couldn't have! There's no way I could have gathered that information."

Korman shifted from the chair to the bed beside her and put an arm around her. Reflexively, she pulled away, but her resistance was waning.

"Look at this," Korman said. He searched for a few moments for a video file. Nelani watched in disbelief as she saw the cruel truth with her own eyes.

It was a video of herself, executing a line of defenceless, gagged and trussed men, her eyes glowing with yellow Sith intensity.

"Why would I lie to you?" Korman asked gently. "The truth is right here."

* * *

Luke leapt from the command seat and stumbled onto the communications console as the ship lurched from nearby explosions. He sent an emergency message to the Jedi Temple warning them of the impending danger and finally found the secondary weapons console. "Ben, we're going to control the weapons together," Luke said as he put the headset on. "I'll guide you with the Force into a meld with Lowie and me."

"Okay!" Ben said, both terrified and excited about the idea.

Luke reached out with the Force and guided his mind towards Ben's, gently merging their consciousnesses. He sensed the fear and excitement in his son, as well as his determination to not fail miserably and blow the _Yoda_ up. Next, he linked with Lowbacca and immediately felt the image of the battle Lowbacca had assembled in his mind using a combination of Force senses and data from the ship's sensors. The first thing Luke noticed was Twin Suns Squadron directly in front of _Yoda_ chasing down a flight of Mandalorian bombers as they raced towards the Jedi Temple. Lowbacca immediately set course for the Mandalorians at full speed, which was slightly faster than the Twin Suns' X-wings. The combined firepower from Luke and Ben's consoles, as well as the newly-satisfied plasma launchers Lowbacca controlled, quickly vaporized the bombers. A plan formulated in the tri-Jedi meld almost immediately.

"Twin Suns, this is Luke Skywalker aboard the _Yoda,_" Luke hailed the squadron of Jedi trainees. "Form up with us on our strafing run for the lead Mandalorian ship."

"_Yoda_, Twin Lead. Negative on that," Twin Suns One replied. "Bombers are attacking the Jedi Temple. We must defend."

"Twin Lead, if you can't follow orders, I can resume command of _my_ squadron," Luke snapped. "Form up, _now_."

The squadron jumped into formation around the _Yoda_, six fighters flanking each side as it charged at the offending fleet. Lowbacca reported a five hundred kilometre distance to the command ship.

"Twin Suns, we're going to do a micro jump into the Mandalorian fleet behind the flagship," Luke ordered. "Trust the Force to guide you."

Luke reached out and guided all thirteen pilots with a gentle nudge, and a moment later they appeared in the middle of the V-shaped Mandalorian formation. Some of the younger pilots were completely startled by the success of the jump, but they recovered quickly and followed _Yoda_ towards the command ship, now five hundred metres ahead of them.

"Twin Suns, lock torpedoes on the engines and fire four each, then disengage and plot a microjump back to the rest of the fleet," Luke commanded, bringing up targeting solutions and feeding them to the X-wing astromechs. Each of the X-wings called out as they launched their torpedoes, and, as one, the formation disappeared into their microjump.

With the Mandalorians anticipating an attack only from the front, the torpedoes crossed the distance unnoticed, impacting the unshielded engines and exploded shrapnel in every direction. Each set of torpedoes impacted with a slight delay, carving an increasingly larger chunk of the Mandalorian ship away as the torpedoes ripped through the hull. _Yoda_ opened fire with all weapons, taking advantage of the advanced turbolasers and plasma torpedoes to target the main reactor core. Flanking ships had finally located the _Yoda_ within their formation and opened fire at the small ship. With Lowbacca's Jedi reflexes, the Mandalorians caused more damage to their own command ship than the crescent-shaped pest they targeted. Lowbacca fired a final volley of six plasma torpedoes into the ship, fracturing the deck plating and finally impacting the main reactor. The resulting explosions tore the ship in half vertically and sent two large chunks of ship into the V-shaped formation.

The ships closest to the flagship were destroyed immediately in the explosion, and the next ships in line either flew directly into the debris or impacted other ships as they frantically tried to manoeuvre away from certain death. Lowbacca barely had time to complete another microjump to escape being caught in the explosion, and brought the ship around to continue the attack when a sense of urgency filled the Force bond.

"All ships focus your attacks on the debris!" Pellaeon's orders came across an open frequency. "We _cannot_ let it impact the Jedi Temple!"

Moments passed like hours as the Jedi watched the two chunks of the Mandalorian command ship continue their collision course towards the Jedi Temple, undeterred by the thousands of turbolaser impacts that desperately tried to reduce the ship into pieces small enough that the Temple would survive impact from, but time and space worked in the Mandalorians' favour. The right side of the Mandalorian ship impacted the top half of the Temple, crushing the living quarters and the command section, including the Jedi Council room. Seconds later, the bottom half of the Temple fell prey to the other section of the disabled ship, devastating the engines and overloading the power plant. The resulting explosion and momentum of the destroyed vessels took out the shipyard that had worked tirelessly on the Temple for weeks, igniting the space around Bastion one last time.

The remaining Mandalorian ships turned around and jumped to hyperspace, content with their victory as the Imperials and Jedi forces resigned to their loss and regrouped to fight another day.

* * *

Luke watched the burning wreckage of the Jedi Temple with emotional detachment and released the meld with Ben and Lowbacca. He retook the command chair and pressed a few buttons until Pellaeon's face appeared in a hologram in front of Luke.

"Is this a secure line?" Luke asked.

"Absolutely," Pellaeon said. "Initial damage reports are coming up light. Damages are under five percent of assets."

"It looks like they fell for the decoy Temple," Luke said.

"Luke, my boy, if there is one thing I've learned about Mandalorians," Pellaeon said smugly, "It is that they make great fighters, but a Rominaria flower could strategize better than their best. I have received confirmation that the Jedi Temple has safely arrived at its new home. They should be safe now."

"Thank you, Gilad."

"How did _Yoda_ perform?"

"It's a fine little ship," Luke said appraisingly. "It sure packs a punch."

"I'll have my people clear you to dock on my command ship," Pellaeon said. "We need to discuss some recent turns of events."

Pellaeon signed off and Luke relaxed back into to the command chair.

"Well, that was certainly a successful shakedown cruise," Luke sighed. "Lowie, please dock us on Pellaeon's command ship and find some crew for this ship. I don't want to be short staffed again."

* * *

After the failed attempt at using a neurotoxin, the appearance of a ship-to-ship ion cannon in the hanger bay did not entirely surprise Womprat at all. What did surprise his programming was the presence of seven such turrets being mounted and pointed at the _Solo Quest._ As the Mandalorians had obviously determined, no amount of magnetic shielding could withstand an attack of seven capital ship ion cannons at point-blank range. This posed further concerns when Womprat's calculation indicated that he, too, could not withstand touching the ship with such a barrage hitting it. That left only one option.

"Final explanation: As I said before, it will be up to you to defend the ship from the meatcan intruders once my systems have been deactivated. Do you understand, furbag?"

A sharp yelp, wagging tail, and short growl told Womprat that Astro did, in fact, understand.

With the main computer rigged to shut down all systems the moment before the ion cannons fired, Womprat used his repulsorlifts to settle on Jacen's bed beside the Vornskr and finally shut down. With only a moment's notice, Jacen's bed was the only place in the ship that was sufficiently shielded to protect from any severe trauma either occupant could receive from the barrage. That said, Womprat would still have to shut down all his systems to be safe from any errant energy arcs. As an added precaution, Astro's paws and chest had been wrapped with an insulating cloth that made the Vornskr want to chew his own legs off, but would provide some measure of protection if he was caught on a non-insulated surface.

A blue cascade of electricity rippled across the walls and deck plating for a full five minutes before Astro's sensitive ears picked up the sound of the boarding ramp being forced open and armoured boots clanking their way aboard.

Astro lept down from the bed and silently snuck into the main sitting area, and then into the training room. Using the Force, he located four essences moving inside the ship. One approached him, one was in the cockpit, and the other two were nearby. He crept along the wall to the other doorway and waited. The steady clanking of armoured boots approached, and a blaster barrel appeared at the doorway. The barrel swung left to right, scanning the room for any occupants, but it did not notice the massive canine hiding just beside the door. A moment later an arm and body appeared, and Astro pounced.

His powerful jaws snagged the Mandalorian's helmet in mid-jump, and before his front paws hit the floor he had already crushed the helmet with the Mandalorian's head inside it.

One down, three to go.

Astro left the body with the mangled head and continued his patrol of the ship. As he made his way down the corridor he came across the engineering section and his ears picked up some movement inside. Two Mandalorians were moving around making a lot of noise for commandos. Astro crept into the room and lunged at the first target. He landed on the Mandalorian's back, using his front paws to grab the man around the neck and his jaw to latch onto his helmeted skull. The Mandalorian twisted and fell to the ground with a scream, and, using the Force for guidance, Astro whipped his tail out with uncanny precision and dug the poisionous barb into the other's neck, just under the armoured helmet. A twist of his jaw separated the one Mandalorian's head from his shoulder, and the poison quickly paralyzed the other. Without an antidote, he, too, would die quite painfully in short order.

Three down.

Astro continued his trek down the central corridor of the ship and came to the boarding ramp. He reached out with the Force and sniffed with his nose, but could not detect any more presences, except the one in the cockpit. He ran to Jacen's room and triggered the door release with his paw, and then pawed at Womprat until the droid reactivated.

"Query: Meatcans neutralized?" Womprat asked.

Astro growled and barked, and then left the room. Womprat followed him to the boarding ramp and found the Vornskr pointing at the nearest ion cannon with his nose, one paw pulled up as if to indicate something of importance.

"Understood," Womprat said menacingly.

The Vornskr returned up the boarding ramp and slowly crept into the cockpit. The Mandalorian was sitting in Jacen's chair, trying to access some of the ship systems. Completely engrossed in trying to hack the encryption codes, he did not notice the Vornskr that crushed his neck in one swift attack.

By the time Astro had dragged the four bodies outside the main boarding ramp, Womprat had returned to the ship with a satisfied glow in his optical sensors. After the _Solo Quest_ reactivated primary systems, a thoroughly gratifying explosion that claimed the emitter arrays of all seven ion cannons rocked the entire Mandalorian ship, letting every occupant know that this freighter was not to be trifled with.

* * *

Sweat poured down Jacen's face in streams from his already-soaked hair as he pushed against the Ysalamiri. Rather than resist all six of the creatures surrounding the room with their Force-negating bubbles, he pushed back against the one closest to the door. After the third hour, Jaina finally felt the Force return to her beside the door. Rather than try distracting her brother by asking when to release the door, she simply reached out with the Force to feel for the door. A short eternity later, Jaina finally found the locking mechanism and triggered the door release. The door popped, and she yanked it open. Jacen immediately collapsed to the table she had put under him and rolled off it to the ground.

"Jacen?" Jaina hissed. She quickly glanced out the hallway and saw no activity before running up to her brother. "Jace, wake up."

His eyes fluttered open again.

"Did it work?" Jacen moaned.

"Yeah, good job," Jaina smiled at him.

"Oh, good," Jacen pulled off the vines and leaves on his face and rubbed his eyes. "I was worried you'd say I had to do that again."

"Your eyes…?"

"Healed," Jacen smiled. "The amulet was healing me the whole time. There is some benefit to it after all. Let's get out of here."

"Wait," Jaina said, holding up a datapad. "I was going over some of the files I extracted from the database. Our cousin is here!"

"Ben?" Jacen asked.

"No, Sal-Solo's daughter," she said. "Apparently Sal-Solo was behind the kidnapping. He arranged for the Sith to kidnap his daughter as a political ploy to use against the Jedi. The proof is all here! He's been communicating with her the whole time."

"And if we find her and bring her back…"

"Corellia should throw its support behind the Jedi again," Jaina smiled. "Up you get; we have work to do."

Jacen pulled himself to his feet with Jaina's help and they went to the door. She opened it and they both looked out. The hallway was vacant. He quickly moved down the hall, leaning heavily against her until he felt the Force return. With his connection to the Force restored, he recalled his strength and took a deep breath.

"We should find our lightsabers first."

"I know where they are," Jaina said, tapping a spot on her datapad. "This is the armoury. It's guarded by an Ysalamiri, though."

"What about the kid?"

"Here," Jaina pointed to another spot. "And we're here."

"Okay," Jacen said. "You get the lightsabers, I'll get the kid and we'll meet up at the hanger bay."

"You two, stop!"

Jacen reacted without thinking. He launched a stream of emerald lightning from his hand that split half way between him and the Mandalorians down the hall. It penetrated through the weak points in their armour without leaving a mark, and a second later both hit the ground like a couple sacks of armoured rocks.

"Hey, I found some disguises," Jacen said cheerfully. He looked only slightly tired, but Jaina did notice using the Force drained him visibly. "Let's shove them in our cell and get going."

Five minutes later they were dressed in the Mandalorian armour, and Jaina handed Jacen his helmet.

"I've encrypted the communication between these helmets so only we can hear each other," She explained. "I put them on an obscure frequency, but if they detect it they'll crack the code pretty quickly. It isn't my best work, but we're short on time. I also uploaded the base schematics to your HUD."

"Good work, Jaina. Let's go."

* * *

Eriana awoke from a healing trance strapped to a table and trying to figure out how she got into the trance. Her body still ached. She remembered being stabbed, burned, and beaten repeatedly before waking up. She barely had enough movement to look down at her body to see her tattered and blood stained robes, but not see any fresh blood. Even her knee felt healed. The moment she tried to reach into the Force and disconnect the straps holding her down, the door opened and a bubble of Forcelessness overcame her body.

"Good morning, Jedi scum," Jir'ca said merrily as she positioned the ysalamiri to cover Eriana's body. She walked up to the head of the table and sat down on a chair Eriana could not see. Jir'ca's face hovered over Eriana, giving her an excellent view of the Twi'lek's nostrils.

"Got a cling-on there," Eriana commented, earning her a slap across the face. "Just trying to help."

"Yes, the legendary Jedi helpfulness," Jir'ca said sarcastically. "Always making sure people's noses are clean. What would the galaxy ever do without it? I want to try something new today."

"A vacation?" Eriana asked weariliy. "Please say a vac..."

Eriana suddenly found herself inside an office building with stacks upon stacks of filing cabinets around her. A moment later, a familiar Twi'lek appeared in front of her.

"Moving day?" Eriana asked.

"Show and tell," Jir'ca responded. "This is when we start going through your memories, and you start telling me about them. Let's start with some Jedi secrets."

"I think this is when I tell you to pick a level of hell to go to," Eriana mused. "And you bugger off to it. I'm not letting you see anything."

Jir'ca attacked, lancing in a high speed with a spear-finger strike to the throat. While she had experienced mental assaults like this before and knew that any injuries Jir'ca tried to inflict on her here would not physically harm her at all if she kept her focus, it still _hurt._

Eriana attacked back, striking Jir'ca with a knife hand to the back of the neck and a knee to the chest. They traded blows until Eriana fell exhaustedly to the floor. The Sith was just too much for her in her weakened state.

"Stop," She gasped. "Can't...breathe..."

Jir'ca smiled and made her way to one of the cabinets, ripping it open. The action made Eriana wince, as if someone had torn a handful of hair out of her head trying to find the memories beneath. Inside, a flimsy containing details on the fleet defence patrols around Bastion made Jir'ca smile broader.

"This is a lovely start," Jir'ca smiled. "You can rest now."

* * *

"Her will is breaking," Jir'ca reported to Sekava as she entered the information she had gleaned from inside Eriana's head on a datapad. "I will soon have all that she knows, or she will join us and tell us willingly."

"Good work," Sekava said. "I must go to the surface tomorrow to oversee the transfer of Solo. Continue your work here. Once you have broken her, kill her."

* * *

"It certainly was unfortunate that no Jedi were captured," Marvis Cree announced to the full senate from his hover pod as it slowly revolved around Cal Omas's hover platform. "We lost a command ship and several support craft, and they lost the Jedi Temple. Probably half of their numbers were lost in the battle. As unfortunate as the result was, I believe the overall Jedi losses will be greater than our own.

"The worst part was that the Jedi attacked us without even responding to our hails. Where was the famed Jedi patience? We barely dropped out of hyperspace and their ships attacked. I hardly believe this rogue behaviour is what this senate is interested in associating themselves with!"

Cheers broke out to Soora's words, bringing a smile to his face.

"We must push on!" he continued. "We must end this recklessness that has tipped our galaxy into chaos; that has put our homes and families once again in danger!

"Until the Jedi are stopped, the galaxy will not know peace!"

* * *

Luke found Pellaeon poring over fleet battle damage and loss reports in his office adjacent to the command centre of his flag ship Star Destroyer. From Luke's initial assessment, the fleet was redeploying itself quickly in anticipation of another attack they both knew was unlikely to occur. The Mandalorian target was destroyed, as per Pellaeon's plan, so a full-scale assault was unlikely.

Luke walked into the office and sat down, waiting for the Admiral to acknowledge him.

"Minimal losses on our side and they lost a command carrier," Pellaeon mused, looking up at the Jedi Master. "Congratulations, Luke. Thanks to our decoy, the galaxy at large believes that the Jedi are nearly extinct again."

"Let's hope fiction doesn't become reality," Luke added. "Their attacks have been frighteningly precise and fast after they declared war on us. We might have to consider there being a mole in our ranks."

Pellaeon slid a datapad across his desk towards Luke without taking his eyes off a report.

"We found five in my fleet already," Pellaeon said smugly, still reading. "We are still searching, and we are feeding these spies some rather useful information. How do you _think_ they knew where our Temple was?"

Luke scanned the datapad and did not recognize any of the spies, but downloaded a copy of the report to a datacard for future reference. "How did you find them?"

"Our fleet has had very few new recruits," Pellaeon said. "Even in a fleet as big as ours, transfer notices are double-checked with both the present and past commanding officers. Unconfirmed transfers raise a silent red flag."

He pressed a button on his desk to activate a wall panel, displaying a frozen image from inside the Galactic Alliance senate chamber. Several of the seats were empty, indicating the representatives of planets loyal to the Jedi whose senators had evacuated Coruscant. "This was broadcasted about five minutes before the attack. You'll find it much more interesting than discovered spies."

Another button sent the image into motion and filled the room with Cal Omas' booming voice.

"_My fellow citizens of the Galactic Federation of Free Planets; I bring you sad news about the betrayal of those we once thought were our closest allies. The Jedi, who recently fled Coruscant using a secret unauthorized spacecraft to escape house arrest, are building up arms and are creating a coalition to destroy all that we have built. We have gathered intelligence on the location of their temple, and we have dispatched a fleet to capture it, thanks to our new allies; the Mandalorian Nation!"_

The roar of applause was cut off by another of the buttons on Pellaeon's desk.

"That does not sound like the Cal Omas I know," Luke said heavily.

"No," Pellaeon agreed. "Something is wrong."

"If I were to guess, it would be the Sith," Luke said.

Pellaeon grunted his agreement and went back to some of the reports, leaving Luke to his thoughts.

"I think we need to expand our numbers," Luke said.

"We already have the majority of the military worth having, and several strategic partners," Pellaeon said, apparently somewhat confused. "Whom else might we need right now?"

"Heroes from the rebellion against the...against Palpatine's Empire," Luke said, quickly stopping his reflex. "The Crackens, Lando Calrisian, Page's Commandos, Col Serra, and several others. These are well-known and generally highly-regarded names and faces. It would be a political manoeuvre as much as a strategic one."

"You're the leader, Luke," Pellaeon chuckled. "It is entirely up to you to decide who you want on your hoverball team."

"The problem is they've all disappeared," Luke said. "The Crackens have locked up Contruum tighter than a corusca gem again. Page's Commandos were last seen on Coruscant and disappeared off the grid entirely. Lando simply vanished three weeks ago, and Col Serra hasn't been heard from in years. I wouldn't even know where to start looking for Lando or Col, but they would both be valuable assets. We need people who know how to infiltrate planets and set up resistances. Unfortunately, most of the best people from the Rebellion are too old to help out or are no longer with us."

"Well, I'm afraid you have me at a loss, young Luke," Pellaeon said. "I spent more time trying to arrest these people than recruit them. You of all people know how well I did at that."

"I need someone who can find them," Luke mused. "Someone who can get into anywhere and find information..."

At that moment the door to Pellaeon's office opened.

"Hey, Skywalker! Why's that Wookiee trying to recruit me for that little ship you got?" Kyle Katarn asked. "I have fifty knights to train in advanced lightsaber techniques. I don't have time to be gallivanting around on some ship."

Luke smiled broadly to Pellaeon.

"Kyle, please come in," Luke said invitingly. "I have an idea how you can get out of it."

Kyle regarded Luke suspiciously. "As long as you don't send me looking for that Calrissian guy. I still have scars from the last time I broke him out of a jail cell..."

"Admiral," another voice came from the door, prompting Kyle to move aside. "Sorry to interrupt, but there is a broadcast from the senate you might want to see."

"Thank you, Nathaniel," Pellaeon said, activating the holodisplay. The face of Cal Omas with the senate behind him appeared.

"_Citizens of the Galactic Alliance, it is with a heavy heart that I bring you an update on the current state of affairs. A combined Imperial-Jedi fleet has attacked the fleet we sent to arrest the Jedi Council, destroying a command ship and several other support craft, with over twenty thousand of our best military people on board. These Jedi paid a high price for their aggression. The Jedi Temple was destroyed in this attack, with the very ship they themselves destroyed. But this must end! The Jedi _must_ be stopped! This rogue behaviour cannot be allowed! I call on you to support us..."_

Cal's words were cut off by Pellaeon deactivating the feed.

"I find it quite ironic that his attacks could constitute rogue behaviour, namely when you consider that they attacked without announcing their presence, but I'm sure such things will not be considered by his audience," Pellaeon said with a grim smile. "I hope you do not mind me deactivating the feed. I believe, if history does in fact repeat itself, Chief Omas will be demanding a call to arms and trying to inspire the youth to rally to his cause. It would hardly be the first time I heard such a speech, and I do believe we have more pressing matters than listening to political rhetoric."

"Well, it looks like they bought the ruse," Luke said. "Or at least are pretending they did."

"Uh, yeah. That's great," Kyle said, obviously uncomfortable about being around a high-level meeting. "Can I go now?"

"Have a seat, Kyle," Luke said. "Once you hear about this mission, you'll want to be sitting."

* * *

In his daily communication from Soora, Darth Krak had received instructions to deploy agents to 'soften' the resolve of some of the Jedi-friendly senators on Coruscant. As well as these orders, there were also various instructions about deploying diplomats to various planets, ship production schedules, resource arrival times from GA sources, and various other important directions. Krak sat back thinking about how hard it would be to do what Soora was doing. Leaving directions here and there, talking to the senate and directing fleet movements.

_It can't be _that_ difficult if a crazy guy could do it,_ Krak thought.

Any further thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Darth Treulos.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Soora's latest instructions." Krak handed her a datapad.

After she scanned it for a moment he spoke again.

"What do you think of these latest developments?"

"Our plans are moving forward," She replied. "The Jedi are showing resistance and ingenuity in opposing our efforts, but we expected that. There have been setbacks, but overall we can't complain too loudly. We're still winning."

"Soora wants us to redouble our efforts on the new command ship," Krak said, referring to the notes. "But it is nearly complete."

"New command ship?"

"In the Da Soocha system," Krak supplied. "You didn't know about it?"

"No."

Krak smiled in a way Tahiri really did not like.

"You're gonna love this thing when it comes online," He said. "We'll tell him more workers have been added, but he's not likely to notice. Everything is still ahead of schedule."

"Understood," she said. "Do you think it is…wise to have him in command still? His ability to focus seems limited at times."

"Soon we won't have to worry about him," Krak said. "One day soon, I will challenge him, and together we will rule the galaxy. Nothing can stop us if we fight together."

"Then let us hope that day comes soon," Darth Treulos said.

* * *

Korman entered Nelani's room again to find her meditating. Her thoughts were troubled enough that she could not hide them from him, and he easily determined that she was questioning her status as a Jedi or a Sith. It was time to make that decision final.

"Nelani, wake up," Korman called, startling her to awareness. He smiled and sat down beside her. Reflexively, she pulled away slightly.

"If you keep away from me, things are going to get uncomfortable," Korman said with an understanding smile. He put an arm around her and pulled her close, but for once she did not resist. She melted against him, resting her head on his shoulder and putting an arm around his waist.

"I can't be a Sith," Nelani said weakly. "It doesn't make sense."

"Here." Korman extracted something from his belt with his free hand and put it on her lap.

"Do you know what that is?" He asked.

Several sarcastic thoughts came to her mind, everything from a long range communicator to a Wookiee shaving kit, but she simply nodded. A lightsaber was instantly recognizable by any Jedi.

"I don't think you do," Korman released her and gently pushed her upright so she was sitting on her own. "This was your lightsaber."

Nelani picked it up and stood. She examined the hilt and noticed the grip was designed for fingers slightly smaller than her own.

"No it isn't," She insisted. "It's too small."

"Maybe you grew in the last five years?" Korman asked, casting doubt on Nelani's initial analysis. "That was your first blade. You went through a growth spurt soon after you built it and had to make another. You gave it to me to destroy, but I couldn't do it. You meant too much to me."

Nelani absentmindedly hit the power stud and a blood red blade sprang forth, but no memories were attached. She could sense a faint shadow of a presence in the lightsaber, definitely female, but she could not be certain it was hers. After a minute of staring into the blade, she deactivated it and dropped it.

"It doesn't feel right," she said.

Korman stepped up and unexpectedly kissed her. He pushed his presence into her, kindling an animalistic fire in her. They lingered for a moment until she pulled away and looked into his eyes. He could almost see the burning attraction in her dark brown eyes.

"How right did that feel?" He whispered, sensing great conflict inside her. "How does it feel to find someone who loves you for who you are?"

Korman never got an answer, and the matter of the lightsaber's ownership quickly became the last thing on either of their minds.


	8. 11 Days

**11 Days...**

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"After yesterday's announcement by Chief of State Omas requesting police forces across the GA to arrest any Jedi on sight, our Mandalorian allies attempted to extract the Jedi Temple from Imperial space by sending a fleet to apprehend the rogue Order. I have with me tactical advisor Yaric Boz'nak to comment on the situation."

"Thank you, Tyshria," _the Bothan advisor said as the holocamera focused on his face._ "The Mandalorian fleet dropped out of hyperspace and was immediately assaulted by the combined Jedi and Imperial forces without being given the chance to be offered a chance of surrendering or explaining their actions. The fleet was quickly overwhelmed by the mass of Jedi and Imperial ships in the area and was mercilessly slaughtered in the attack. Almost nine-tenths of the fleet sent to arrest the Jedi was lost with all hands on board. This attack was not a complete loss, however. I can now report to you that we have confirmed the destruction of the Jedi Temple. As a result of the destruction of the lead Mandalorian ship, the Jedi Temple was caught in the explosion and was destroyed with all hands."

"This is astonishing news," _Tyshria said to the Bothan_. "What are the implications of this?"

"The Jedi power base will likely be fractured now," _Yaric said_. "This could possibly be the defining moment when the Jedi lose their grip on their stronghold planets. We may yet see several of them requesting to rejoin the Galactic Alliance. This costly defeat for both sides may be what is needed to open negotiations for surrender and end this conflict without further bloodshed. However, in an interesting turn of events, the senate has authorized increased spending on ship production to counter the possibility of increased Jedi hostilities."

"Thank you for your insight on this most troubling situation, Yaric.

"In the Corellian sector, Senator Thracken Sal-Solo has issued a no-confidence vote against Diktat Saxan surrounding her support of the now-broken Jedi Order. The situation surrounding the recent loss of his daughter has brought a great deal of support to Sal-Solo's views. If the vote is successful for him, he would become temporary Diktat until the Corellian Sector can have a public election. The confidence vote will take place later this standard galactic day.

"Several sectors in the mid-rim are engaging in border skirmishes as past rivalries become polarized by the Jedi situation. Experts say that as high as twenty percent of the mid-rim planets have had at least one instance where domestic hostilities erupted in relation to the Jedi situation..."

* * *

Jacen walked through the corridors as silently as his armour allowed, moving as quickly as he could towards the area Jaina indicated their cousin was being held. The HUD displayed the base schematics in a wireframe in front of his left eye and brought up names for his right eye of the various Mandalorians that he passed which were guarding doors. While Jacen could sense his sister's growing nausea from using the HUD, Jacen had grown used to the multi-layered graphical display during his time in Lanos's team and was able to adjust to using it again quite easily.

He finally reached the door designated by Jaina's map and immediately knew he found the right one. A bright pink door mat and various childish decorations no Mandalorian or Sith would ever subject themselves to adorned the door. The HUD told Jacen that the two guards were named Lieutenant Sengwizch and Captain Gabassa.

"Captain, Lieutenant," Jacen saluted in the Mandalorian way and adopted the deeper voice he used during his time as Roshi. "Those crazy Sith wanted me to bring the kid up to talk to her dad. He just called."

Something hit the door, followed by a loud angry scream about wanting to go home. Both guards turned to look at the door, and then back at Jacen.

"She's all yours, Major," Captain Gabassa said. Jacen was sure he heard a smirk in the Captain's voice. "Just make sure your blaster is set to stun."

Jacen entered the room and dodged a doll thrown at his head.

"It's not very polite to do that to someone carrying a blaster," Jacen chided her.

"You're not my daddy!" She shouted at him. "You can't tell me what to do. I want more toys! I want to go home!"

"Well, being right half the time isn't bad," Jacen said. "I can certainly tell you what to do."

He reached out with the Force and pressed his mind into her mind, taking control over her body. After the exertion against the ysalamiri, controlling a child's mind was almost an effortless task. He opened the door and marched her towards the door like a puppet and followed her out of the cell. He tried to put a scowl on her face, which he suspected looked more like a grimace, so the guards would not notice the difference in her behaviour.

"I'll bring the brat back shortly," Jacen said, adding a bit of Force to his voice. "You guys can stay here."

"Yessir."

Jacen walked her down the hall into a deserted room and closed the door. He finally released control over her and took off his helmet. She immediately tried to screech for help, but he used the Force to stop her voice.

"Do you know who I am?" Jacen asked, crouching down to eye level with her.

"No!" She shouted. "I want..."

"I'm your cousin, Jacen Solo. I suppose you've heard of me?"

"You're a Jedi!" She screeched. "Jedi are bad! You're going to hurt me. Help me! Somebody! Help..."

"Nobody can hear you." Jacen rolled his eyes. "I'm using the Force to sound proof this room."

"You're mean!" She shouted at him and pushed at his chest, but only succeeded in pushing herself backward. "I'm going to tell my daddy about you and he's going to _kill_ you! You hear me? _My daddy's going to kill you!_"

Jacen winced, checked his blaster to ensure it was set it to stun, and shot the annoying child.

"Much better."

He searched the room and eventually found an equipment bag stuffed full of emergency supplies that looked about the right size for what he needed. He dumped the contents of the bag into a box and carefully folded his cousin into the bag. He replaced his helmet and slung the bag over his shoulder.

"Jaina? I have the kid. I'm heading to the hanger bay."

Silent static filled the comm, followed by the cold, calculating feeling Jacen learned to associate with Jaina's combat-mode filtering across their twin bond.

"Or not."

* * *

"Ready to give up more secrets, little human?" Jir'ca asked smugly as she took her chair behind Eriana's head like she had the previous day.

"I'll give you nothing," Eriana said with more determination than her face suggested as Jir'ca put her hands on Eriana's scalp.

"Liar..."

Jir'ca found herself in complete darkness. There were no filing cabinets, no office. No Eriana.

It was not that she was conscious in a place she should be unconscious in, but that there was nothing around her.

A stream of light assaulted her eyes and she sheltered them with her arm.

"Where are you, Jedi?" Jir'ca screamed. Fear began to enter her heart as the light became brighter and closer. She already knew where Eriana was.

"Where do you think, schutta?" The light had revealed itself as Eriana.

She wound up and punched the Twi'lek with enough force to send her back several metres into the darkness. Before Jir'ca could recover, Eriana grabbed her by the throat.

"As if a little whelp like you could really overpower a student of Jacen Solo's," Eriana said with a grin. "Did you really think I'd give you any information? Fleet manoeuvres? They don't even give me the key to the 'fresher. Nobody tells _me_ fleet manoeuvres."

As dread filled Jir'ca's heart, Eriana took control of the Sith's mind.

* * *

Jir'ca released the straps holding her prisoner down under Eriana's influence. Eriana stood up, fully rejuvenated, and hit the Sith with an elbow across the jaw at the moment she released control of the other woman's body.

"If you weren't wearing practically nothing already, I'd take your clothes," Eriana said to the crumpled body at her feet. "But I'll just take your lightsaber and my ship. Wait a minute. Why do I keep talking to unconscious bodies?"

She shook her head and turned around to leave the cell, only to face the last person she ever expected to see there.

"Ben?"

"Eriana, there is something you must do before you leave," the ascended form of Obi-Wan said. "Nelani is still alive. The Sith are trying to brainwash her. You must rescue her."

Eriana closed her eyes for a moment and rubbed a temple.

"Someone please tell me I'm not hallucinating," Eriana begged.

"Go, you must!" Yoda's voice came through clearly, emphasizing Ben's message with a slight telekinetic shove to her shoulder. "Wait not!"

"Right," Eriana muttered. The door fell to her captured lightsaber, as did the two guards outside her room and their pet ysalamiri. Emergency sirens screeched out signalling an escaped prisoner and Eriana heard the sound of troops approaching from all directions.

"A little help, please?" Eriana demanded. Yoda appeared to her right, pointing down the corridor.

"Thanks!"

She sprinted down the hall, not slowing down to fight. She ran and slashed and hacked, injuring and disarming troops as she could. Some fell without heads, others without arms, but few knew what happened or how to proceed. Several blaster bolts followed her, but they were dispatched easily with the flick of the lightsaber. She sprinted along, following Yoda as he ran ahead of her deeper into the ship with agility that betrayed his vastly aged appearance. Eventually Yoda stopped and pointed to a door before fading away. As Eriana approached, the door opened to reveal a man escorting Nelani from the cell.

"Nelani!" Eriana shouted.

"No," Nelani said. Her face went white and she stumbled back against the door frame. She shook her head to try clearing the image she saw. "No. You...you're dead! This is a trick!"

"If I was dead, do you think I'd be dressed like this?" Eriana demanded, pointing to her well-destroyed outfit covered in blood and many tattered holes. "Let's get out of here before the Sith arrive."

"I _am_ Sith, you idiot," The man escorting Nelani said. He ignited a red lightsaber and took a step towards Eriana. "You are too late. Nelani is one of us. She always was."

"Ronto-sh..."

"I would know," the man interrupted, his eyes looking at Nelani with glowing admiration. "She is my lover. She is _my_ Sith."

"Sith, Jedi, who gives a shavit?" Eriana asked. "She's not an idiot, so how could she be one of you?"

Eriana telekinetically flipped the lightsaber Nelani had on her belt towards the man and jammed it against his spine. She flicked the blade on with the Force and watched as the blade ploughed through his heart. He looked down stupidly at the bright red stream of light that appeared through chest before he collapsed to the ground gasping.

"Korman!" Nelani shouted with tears welling up in her eyes. She called both her own and his lightsaber to her hands and glared at Eriana.

"How _dare_ you?" she demanded.

"Nelani, I'm your friend," Eriana said with complete certainty. "I don't care what they told you; they were just trying to get you on their side."

"I betrayed the Jedi," Nelani cried tearfully. She slashed at Eriana with one lightsaber, but it was deflected easily. "I can't go back. My place is here."

"Honey, either you're coming with me walking or carried over my shoulder, but I am not leaving you here," Eriana said. She deflected several more angered blows and jumped clear from Nelani's reach. "They may have told you what you needed to hear, but you _know_ they were lying."

"I...you killed the only man I loved!"

Eriana deactivated her stolen lightsaber.

"Did they tell you I was dead?" Eriana asked, taking a step towards Nelani. "They told me the same thing. It hurt like hell because I believed them, but seeing you now makes me realize how many lies they have told."

Nelani's jaw trembled, but she flicked her lightsabers menacingly. She lunged forward and crossed the blades at Eriana's neck, slicing off several strands of her long blond hair.

"You're no traitor," Eriana said unflinchingly, staring into Nelani's eyes. "I don't care what they told you, you're a good person, a true friend. You are a Jedi to the core, and you know it."

Tears streamed down Nelani's face and she collapsed to her knees. Eriana used the Force to keep the blades from removing her head and deactivated them. She knelt beside Nelani and put an arm around her friend, letting the troubled young Jedi cry on her shoulder.

* * *

"Han!" Luke Skywalker's voice echoed down the corridor as the former smuggler tried disappearing down the hallway towards the officer's lounge. Several beings moved aside as Luke jogged down the hall in pursuit of his brother-in-law, finally stopping the older man just as he was about to enter the lounge.

"Oh, hi, Luke - fancy meeting you here," Han said pleasantly, as if he had no idea Luke had been following him for the last five minutes and shouting his name. He pressed the button next to the door, exposing a dimly lit room and the exotic smells of various liquors being served inside. "Care to join me for a drink?"

"I have a favour to ask of you," Luke said, grabbing Han's arm and dragging him away from the inviting atmosphere of the lounge and down a back corridor that was nearly deserted. He pushed a datapad into Han's hand and spoke without missing a beat. "I need you to do some recon on the Mandalorian shipyard at Mandalore. You'll have the _Yoda_ at your command, as well as the Wraiths. They just arrived from Tycho's fleet and their new stealth X-wings are being loaded…"

"Wait a minute, Luke," Han interrupted. "You're giving me that cramped little thing with X-wings loaded into it? You can't even fit the crew in that ship it's so small! And I don't go nowhere without the _Falcon_."

"_Yoda_ has a cargo area that can just squeeze in half a squadron of fighters," Luke said patiently. "We won't be able to fit the _Falcon_ into it, but we'll take good care of her while you're gone."

"That's not what I…"

"As you know," Luke pushed on, hiding his smile at Han's apparent anger, "_Yoda_ is equipped with a salvaged cloaking field generator that should render the ship invisible to sensors, giving you the tactical advantage you will need to carry out this mission."

They arrived at turbolift and boarded it. Luke pressed the button for the hanger deck _Yoda_ was berthed at without stopping his narration of the mission plan.

"Once you sneak past the front lines and dock with the station, you'll use stealth to find an information terminal and download any and all production data and technical specifications. Artoo and Lowbacca will be joining you and the Wraiths on this mission. The Wraiths will be doing what they do best - rigging key locations of the shipyard to blow with a remote command should we ever need to attack the shipyard.

"We have already taken the liberty of packing some of your belongings from the _Falcon_, courtesy of Leia before she left, for your stay on the ship, and you'll be departing immediately.

"Any questions?" Luke finished, just as they arrived at the docking bay to the sight of _Yoda_ receiving last minute care before launch.

"Uhh…" Han stuttered. "When did I sign up for this?"

"A long time ago, half a galaxy away, General Solo," Luke smiled, patting his brother-in-law on the back. "If anyone can pull this mission off, it is you."

"Lowie is going on this one?" Han's brain finally clicked in. "Doesn't that mean…"

"Ben is also going," Luke said emotionlessly. "I presume you realize the implications of this."

"Yeah, yeah, I know Mara," Han sighed as he scratched his unshaven chin. This was the Idiot's Array hiding up Luke's sleeve. "Alright, kid, I'll do it. But you owe me one. Just promise me two things."

"What's that?"

"Don't even get a scratch on the _Falcon_," Han grimaced. "And tell me Ben and Lowie aren't the only crew on this ship."

"I promise," Luke chuckled. "If only Tenel Ka was as responsive as you. Get going, you pirate. May the Force be with you."

"Yeah, back at'cha."

* * *

Several painful hours after being found by the Chiss patrol, Mara, Danni and a still-unconscious Leia were brought to a small village in a clearing at the foot of an escarpment that appeared to be littered with cave entrances. There were several dozen Chiss milling about, and huts that could support a population of almost two hundred. Mara had been forced to surrender her lightsaber, and Leia's lightsaber had been collected as well. Upon realizing that Leia was not dead, the Chiss had created a makeshift stretcher from some cargo in the ship and forced Mara to drag her sister-in-law almost the entire way. Only after Mara had collapsed twice from sheer exhaustion, slowing their progress considerably, had the Chiss started taking turns transporting the unconscious Jedi.

The three women were quickly escorted into a hut in the middle of the village where they waited for about twenty minutes before Leia woke up.

"I thought I was in a ship," Leia said groggily as she took in her surroundings.

"We were captured by Chiss," Mara said. She gave Leia's injuries a quick glance and confirmed she was fully healed.

"I thought we were allies," Leia said.

"These ones are different," Danni supplied. "They have arrows."

"Arrows?"

"And bows to shoot them with," Mara finished. "Something tells me they're exiles."

"A very astute observation, Master Skywalker," a low, cultured voice came from the door. An older bald Chiss man smiled grimly and closed the hut door. He was a tall man whose body appeared far younger than the age the lines around his eyes betrayed. "I apologize for the way my people treated you. It is not too often we receive visitors, and never any but our own kind."

"How do you know my name?" Mara blurted defensively.

"You would not remember me," The Chiss smiled gently. "Several years ago you helped a former friend of mine, you would know him as Formbi, with a particularly troublesome situation. Many of the details of that situation were shared with me in my former life. The name of former Chief of State Leia Organa Solo is also known to me, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss with yours, my dear."

Danni offered her name without even realizing it, completely disarmed by the charismatic nature of the man before them.

"My name in exile is Drathan," the Chiss said with a grim smile. "If you would permit me, former Chief Solo, I would like to ask why a person of your political stature finds herself on the moon the Chiss use to house their most deviant members of society."

"I don't entirely know myself," Leia said, slightly flabbergasted. "I just woke up from a healing trance and I'm trying to figure that out myself. Mara?"

"The Mandalorians attacked us," Mara said. "Dragged us out of hyperspace and we barely got away. Danni did a blind jump, but my ship took too much damage. We had to land to make repairs."

"I see," Drathan crossed his arms and furled his brow. "The Mandalorians have not been aggressive towards the Jedi in many years. Why the change?"

"How do you know about Mandalorian politics?" Mara asked suspiciously.

"It was my duty to know," Drathan said proudly. "Over twenty years ago I was the leader of the Chiss people for a time while the ruling families had become dysfunctional. At times when the ruling families are unable to lead, a leader is chosen by the Chiss people. I was that leader. I knew more about some of your political dealings than even you did, former Chief Solo."

"Please, call me Leia," Leia said, uneasy with, but astounded by, the social graces of the Chiss. "We were on our way to ask the Chiss leaders for help with the Mandalorians."

"They'll never help you," Drathan said knowledgeably. "Unless they will gain or avoid a greater loss, they will hide in the Unknown Regions they have so diligently protected for thousands of years."

"They helped us before," Danni said defensively.

"I highly doubt any Chiss other than those inspired by the late Thrawn had any real desire to help you," Drathan said.

"There was a war," Leia explained. "An extra-galactic enemy..."

"The Yuuzhan Vong actually attacked?" Drathan asked. "They scouted our galaxy for thousands of years, circling for ages. What became of them?"

"The estimates were about three hundred and seventy trillion sentients on our side, and two-thirds of their population," Mara supplied grimly. "The Chiss helped us end the war."

"Of course they did, those self-serving bastards," Drathan said in awe-filled bitterness. "Three hundred and seventy _trillion_. I'm sure they waited until they had no other choice.

"You must be hungry," Drathan said after a moment's reflection and opened the door to the hut. "Please, come join us for evening meal. I very much would like to hear more about the last ten years of galactic affairs. We have no holonet here, after all."

* * *

Jaina paused for a moment in a door frame and took a deep breath to gather her courage. Around the corner was the door to the armoury where her lightsaber was being kept, as well as two Mandalorians she could not sense. She could detect their feet, indicating they were just at the edge of the Ysalamiri bubble, but the guards themselves she could not sense. Her disorienting HUD told her their names, but she turned the displays off so she could focus. After a few deep breaths, she drew on the Force and walked up to the Mandalorians. So she could still touch the Force, she stopped just outside the Ysalamiri bubble.

"What's with these AT-405 blaster packs?" She asked in an artificially deep voice. She used the Force to modify her vocal pattern which, she hoped, was not interfered by the Ysalamiri. "These things never hold a charge like the T-420s did."

"Got that right," One of the guards said. "I think they found a case of the T-420s in the back. Better grab 'em while you can."

"Good idea," Jaina said. She stood there waiting for them to open the door, but they merely stared at her.

"Got a problem, soldier?"

"Aren't you going to open the door for me?" Jaina asked.

"What's wrong with your wrist ID transponder?"

Jaina blushed and thanked the fact she had a helmet on. "Forgot I had the thing. Last base didn't have this level of security."

"Oh, were you stuck on Ossus?"

"Yeah," Jaina shook her head. "Last time for that, I tell you."

"After that terantatek attack, I don't blame you," The one guard said sympathetically. "Get moving, we won't tell anyone."

Jaina approached the door, waved her wrist over the door sensor and watched the door roll its way into the ceiling. A moment after entering the room the door closed behind her and the lights flicked on automatically. Directly in the middle of the room was the Ysalamiri responsible for negating the Force around her. She walked up to it, poked the creature with a finger and barely retracted her hand fast enough to avoid being bitten. She decided to leave the reptile alone and search for the lightsabers.

After a few minutes, Jaina finally found two familiar looking lightsabers on a shelf in the middle of the armoury and slipped hers behind her chest armour plate and Jacen's behind her back armour plate.

"Jacen? I found the lightsabers."

At that moment the door opened and a robed being walked in. Jaina did not have the chance to hide, so she marched towards the door as if she had finished her duties. A lit lightsaber stopped her in her tracks and made her backpedal.

"Not so fast, Jedi Solo," the hooded man warned her. He pulled out a blaster with the other hand and shot the ysalamiri, killing it instantly. Jaina felt the Force flood back to her and used it to yank her lightsaber out of her armour and into her hand. She threw the blaster aside and used the Force to launch it at the Sith Lord.

Without responding, Jaina ignited her violet blade and charged at the Sith Lord.

* * *

Han entered the bridge of _Yoda_ with a mixture of a grimace and mild professional excitement. Testing out a new ship design had never really worked out favourably for him, but seeing a sleek new ship with the most advanced goodies to come out of an R&D lab was almost as exciting as holding a Pure Sabbac. He crossed the bridge quickly and took the command chair, swiveling it back and forth to test the movement, enjoying the smooth motion for what he knew would be the only chance he would get. With all the bridge crew watching him, Han turned serious and returned to the forward view, activating a schematic overview of the ship.

"General," A distinctive woman approached Han with a datapad. Han recalled her as a former Wraith-turned-Jedi, Tyria Sarkin. "Master Skywalker selected me as your second in command for this mission."

"At least you're not some kid," Han said with his trademark lopsided grin. "Call ship status reports and let's get this boat moving."

She returned to the port weapons console and activated the ship-wide communications.

"All departments, report readiness; Conn?"

[Ready!] Lowie barked.

"Weapons and shields?"

"Weapons crews standing by and report all turrets fully functional," Tiu Zax reported from the starboard console. "Shield emitters fully charged and operational."

"Communications and sensors?"

"All operational," Dorsk 83 responded.

"Engine room?"

"All systems read functional," Chitter, an Omwati Jedi, responded through the comm. "Cloaking devices are operational."

"Medical bay?"

"Both beds ready," Tekli, recently recalled from Zonama Sekot, reported.

_Both?_ Han asked himself. _They only put two on this thing?_

"Emergency supplies?"

"Checked and rechecked," Ben Skywalker replied over the comm.

"Wraiths?"

"Ewoks packed," Face Loran's voice came from behind Han. "And so are the ships."

Han swiveled around in his chair to face the leader of Wraith Squadron and his eight team members standing behind him.

"'The Flying Ewoks,' eh? I didn't realize you changed the squad name," Han said. "I'll get the paperwork done immediately and we'll make it official. Where's Piggy?"

"Tycho wanted to keep him," Face said warily, as if he was unsure if Han really would rename his squadron.

"Too bad. He sucks at Sabbacc and it's a long flight," Han said. "Alright Lowie, let's see what this ship can do. Arm all weapons and raise shields."

Everyone turned around to face Han again.

"It's called a joke," Han bit out impatiently, waving a hand dismissively. "Make it go."

Lowie grunted an agreement and growled something about the Solo sense of humour. A moment later the engines rumbled the ship as they powered up. Upon Dorsk 83's confirmation of clearance from the Star Destroyer's space control, Lowbacca deftly guided the ship out of the hanger bay and manoeuvred to the jump coordinates.

[We're ready, General,] Lowbacca grunted.

"Where are we going?" Han asked.

Lowie growled in confusion and turned to face Han.

"General, we're going to Mandalore to infiltrate the shipyards," Tyria responded as if she had been asked a simple math equation by a difficult student. "That is the mission."

"That's the reason there isn't a Jedi in this seat," Han said. "Let me teach you a thing or two about being a smuggler. Give me a map or something of our destination."

A large holographic display of the planet Mandalore appeared in front of Han with a red wire frame sphere indicating the planet, and yellow wire frames of a shipyard in orbit. All eyes on the bridge followed Han as he paced around the image.

"Show me your entry point," Han said. A moment later a blue dot appeared outside the system, and a line drew a direct path to the central hub of the shipyard, stopping within, what Han guessed to be, one hundred metres or so from the highest point.

"Overlay the electro-magnetic field of the planet," Han said as patiently as he could. After a moment, dotted green moving lines arched out from the top of the red sphere to the bottom, indicating the lines of polarity.

"Sir, Master Skywalker is asking why we haven't jumped yet," Dorsk 83 announced.

"Tell him to go have a stiff drink and relax," Han said.

"You want me to say that to Master Skywalker? Sir?" Dorsk 83 asked in disbelief.

"Want me to make it an order?" Han replied, still not taking his eyes off the hologram.

"I see it," Face finally said. He joined Han beside the red orb of Mandalore and pointed to the spot where the magnetic fields arched away from each other just above the north pole of the planet. "You want to drop us right here."

"You got it," Han said. "The magnetic field will disguise our hyperspace signature as well as any sensor shadows."

"We'd have to change our approach vector though," Face said. "And our calculations have to be bang on."

"It'd be at least three more jumps and eight lightyears," Han agreed.

"But we have the cloaking device to hide us," Tyria interjected. "We don't need to mask ourselves in magnetic fields."

"Well, it isn't that I don't trust the cloaking device," Han said. "But I don't. Recalculate the jump and head out when ready. And someone tell Ben to get up here and give his uncle a tour of this floating junk pile."

* * *

After a surprisingly refreshing meal, Drathan lead the three human women through the village pointing out the meagre features, such as the community fire pit, the extensive cave system they use for protection during the harsh weather seasons, and the clear, flowing river they use as a water source.

"As you can see," Drathan said as they walked along the bank of the river while some Chiss children tried skipping stones along the surface. "We have a simple, yet satisfactory existence. We catch our own food and live with the land. Even though we are deprived of the technology we were long familiar with, we quickly adapt to our surroundings and find peace with our surroundings."

"Even though you're forced into it," Danni reflected, "it sounds like you enjoy it."

"I certainly do." Drathan gave her a warm smile that seemed to make his red eyes glow brighter. "Others find great shame in being here, but I find one must take what life gives you and make the best of it."

"I hate to sound unappreciative," Mara interrupted. "But we'd like to leave. We have a mission to complete. Are we prisoners?"

"Certainly not," Drathan chuckled. "Anyone who is as pleasant company as all of you are are welcome here as a guest."

Mara and Leia exchanged glances. While their predicament was undesirable, something was nagging them both.

"We'll need a few days to fix our ship," Leia said. "I'd hate to impose on your people…"

"It is no imposition." Drathan dismissed her easily. "We rarely have guests here. Anyone who comes here expects to spend the rest of their lives here. Tonight you will stay with us, and tomorrow we will help you fix your ship. Some of the exiles were engineers in their past lives and should be able to help you. All we ask is that you do not stay. You have lives elsewhere; this is not your place in the galaxy."

"Thank you," Leia said. The Force seemed to be screaming something at her, but she did not sense danger. Their host's generosity was genuine, and far greater than she ever expected from someone living in the middle of the forest. "Thank you for everything."

* * *

Within the confines of the small Holonet newscast studio, nearly twenty beings bustled about performing various duties before the live interview. Perhaps the most annoying was the one who tried to make a decision if Marvis Cree required some cosmetics to enhance his holocam image, but nearly every one of them annoyed Soora. The camera technicians hovered around testing their platforms like they were in a starfighter test run with cockiness that would make members of Rogue Squadron blush. Sound technicians tested microphones, and if Soora heard "CheckonetwoCheckonetwo" one more time he would probably beat someone with a microphone. Lighting technicians had various lights flicking on and off as they tested light levels with portable meters. All in all, the level of activity in this tiny room made Soora wish for lightsaber practice. But today he had to put up with it. Today he was Marvis Cree, Mandalorian representative in the Galactic Senate.

"Nervous?" An attractive, young female human asked as she sat across the table from Marvis. He recognized her as Tyshria Valck from the morning news reports.

"If I was nervous about some holocams," Soora asked darkly. "I wouldn't make much of a warrior or politician, would I?"

"I…suppose not," Tyshria said uncomfortably. "Umm…so we're going to be talking about the Jedi situation today."

"Obviously."

"Right. Well, just follow my cues and answer my questions and you…_we_, we will be fine."

"I know."

"Okay, then."

Tyshria and Soora sat there in awkward silence as the minutes ticked away. Several times Soora caught her looking at him, and a quick glare earned him a smile from her and she looked away uncomfortably.

Inwardly, Soora found it entirely amusing, but outwardly he had to keep up the Mandalorian image of aloofness during social situations. The Mandalorians had a reputation for social ineptness according to the rest of the galaxy, and Soora did not want to spoil that image.

"It's time," Tyshria said at a point in time that seemed no different to any other point in time before it.

A technician stepped in front of the camera, held up five fingers and said "We are live in five…four…three…"

The last two fingers dropped in silence, and Soora heard music playing in the background. When the music stopped, Tyshria spoke.

"Good afternoon, Sentients of the Galactic Alliance. I am here on a special mid-day telecast with the rare opportunity to interview the Mandalorian representative to the Galactic Senate, Marvis Cree."

Soora noticed one of the holodisplay images panned out to include him.

"Senator Cree, how are you today."

"Hungry."

"Uh…Me, too!" Tyshria said with an uncomfortable laugh, trying to recover from his abruptness. Obviously niceties were not on the senator's agenda. "They should really have a buffet before the telecast this close to mid-day meal!"

"That would be an acceptable solution to our hunger problem."

"Right."

Tyshria consulted her cue cards and picked her first question.

"Senator, your position is one of particular dislike of the Jedi," she asked. "Would you mind explaining some of the history behind the Jedi and Mandalorian peoples."

"The Jedi have always tried to kill us because we are strong," Soora explained. "They like to rule the weak, and the strong are a threat to their dominance."

"For thousands of years the Jedi were considered the Guardians of the Republic," Tyshria said. "Surely in that time they would have been stopped if that was indeed what they were doing."

"Palpatine did stop them," Soora replied. "And not even half a century later their dominance is being challenged again. Surely this is not coincidence, but cosmic justice."

"As we understand it, you are in the process of putting forward a bill to illegalize the Jedi. Can you explain what this means and how it differs from Chief Omas's arrest orders?"

"The Chief put orders to the military and police forces to apprehend members of the Jedi Council for their actions – namely treason for fracturing the Galactic Alliance and splintering Corellia, the Hapes Consortium and the Empire from the Alliance through their actions. While all Jedi are to be arrested, only the members of the Jedi Council will be considered responsible for the actions of the Order.

"Naturally, the Jedi will not come easily and will fight before surrendering, killing countless of our young soldiers before they are apprehended. What I propose is labeling the entire Jedi Order and their companions as rogues to enable authorized military action against them with the aim of stopping them from further destroying this great alliance that they had once tried to build to control you with. This will also allow the government to put bounties on the Jedi and enable us to access the abilities of those who are best capable of hunting fugitives to assist us in apprehending the Jedi. Of course, this bill will need to be voted on, but I have confidence in the senate to do the right thing."

"How do you see the destruction of the Jedi Temple within the context of the Jedi situation," Tyshria continued in another direction.

"The Temple is a symbol for the Jedi," Soora said. "It is a monument to their strength and unity, but it is also their home. We suspect that half of the Jedi were on board when it was destroyed. Videos from the battle showed only a small number of fighters launching from the Temple during the battle. With half their numbers lost, the Jedi will be disheartened and demoralized. I do not know how they could possibly stand before their allies and claim they are worthy to lead them."

"Thank you, Senator," Tyshria said. "This has been a most insightful interview. Are there any parting words for the people of the Galactic Alliance?"

"No," Soora said. "My words are for the _entire_ galaxy.

"To my friends, allies, and those who find themselves on the wrong side of this conflict, I want you to know that we have your best interests at heart. The Mandalorian people are committed to finding a quick, peaceful solution to the rogue behaviour instigated by the Jedi. We want nothing more than to end this so you can continue with your lives without living in fear. Your support will help us help you."

"Thank you, Senator."

"My pleasure, Tyshria."

* * *

If R12-47 was a betting droid, and by no means would a droid who understood that the laws of probability always work in favour of the house get swept into gambling, he would have bet that once his meatbag crew members had been removed from the ship that he would never see nor hear from them again. However, after five years of traveling with two Jedi that would give even the glorious Maker Revan a run for his credits, it did not surprise R12-47's programming in the slightest when Eriana contacted him to request an update on the escape plans.

"Description: The escape plans are going well, meatbag," Womprat told her. "I have nearly completed the recalibration of the charge to facilitate our escape."

"Wait, charge?" Eriana demanded. "What charge?"

"Response: The Void-8, of course. Meatbag."

"No, Womprat, don't even try it! You'll vaporize half the ship!" Eriana's voice responded in a tone that his auditory processors often associated with frantic desperation. In Womprat's historical experience, this particular tone of voice had usually been accompanied by the phrase: "No, please don't shoot me!"

"Clever conversational diversion: I do believe there is some interference which is rendering this conversation less than understandable. If you do not want to die with the meatcans, I suggest you make maximum usage of your ground speed to arrive at the ship as quickly as possible. My circuits are just itching for some dest-ruction!"

Womprat terminated the connection and focused his primary processing cores on his modifications to the Void-8, humming a war chant to himself as his secondary processing cores did what could only be described in meatbag terms as imagining how glorious an explosion this would be.

* * *

Jacen hurried through the corridors as quickly as he could without raising suspicion. He suspected his young cargo was getting bounced around rather harshly against his armour during the few times he felt it safe to sprint or run, but the sense of urgency in his twin bond kept his mind focused. He finally reached the armoury and found two guards outside.

"Hey, got some stuff to drop off. Open 'er up." Jacen ordered.

"Problem with your wrist ID, sir?" One of the guards asked.

"Oh, right," Jacen said, oblivious to what the guards were talking about.

"Ah, you must've just transferred in from Ossus with Migal." The other guard said.

"That's right," Jacen replied, recalling the name that identified Jaina's armour owner. His sense of urgency tripled when he felt Jaina nearly take a lightsaber blow, but he forced it out of his voice. "Migal. Great guy. A little short, but he's got spunk."

"I wouldn't know, but he's in there now," The first guard jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "He's been taking a while. Tell him the T-420s are on the top shelf in the back left corner."

"Will do," Jacen smiled. He waved his wrist over the keypad and nothing happened.

"Other wrist, sir," One of the guards said. "Ossus must've been really backwards."

"Oh, you know those Jedi," Jacen said, transferring the bag to his other shoulder and finally using the right wrist. "They can't build their way out of a flimsy bag."

Both Mandalorians chuckled and Jacen disappeared into the room. He distantly heard lightsaber fighting to the far right and sprinted off in that direction. He reached an open area with a broken table that had been smashed against a wall and his sister with her lightsaber locked in a bind against a Sith Lord's blade.

He dropped the equipment bag with his cousin in it and pulled his lightsaber out of Jaina's armour on her intuition. Just as he was about to join her, three lightsabers ignited between one row of weaponry to reveal three Sith Lords charging at him. One leapt ahead, and with hardly a second to react, Jacen fell into Vaapad and lopped off the arms of the first Sith Lords and followed through with a bisecting chop through the chest. The other two Sith Lords approached him cautiously and all three sensed Sal-Solo waking up.

"Let me out!" The bag screamed. "My daddy will kill you! I want to go back to my room!"

Jacen and the Sith Lords shared a glance and they all saw the same thing in each other's faces – neither side wanted the child to be hurt and they all knew the value of Sal-Solo. One Sith started towards the bag and the other towards Jacen, but Jacen used the Force to slide it across the room between the legs of the table. The two Sith Lords attacked him and he fell back into Vaapad. One swung high, the other low, and Jacen expertly parried their attacks and forced their blows to nearly hit the other. While they exchanged blows, Sal-Solo was able to force the clasp on the bag open and squeeze her head and arm out. At that moment Jacen side stepped an attack and slashed the head off one of the Sith, which rolled up to Sal-Solo.

Eyes wide with fear, she screamed at the sight of the disembodied head blinking up at her and everyone in the room yelled at her to calm down. Both Jedi and Sith redoubled their efforts to end the battle while Sal-Solo frantically wiggled her way out of the equipment bag amid cries of terror. Finally free, she ran towards the door, but Jaina leapt across the room to block her path as the Sith Lord that Jacen was fighting did likewise. They ended up on either side of her, fighting with their best accuracy as they tried to keep the child between them so the other could control her while Jacen and the first Sith engaged in combat. Sal-Solo screamed in an absolute panic as sparks flew from the lightsabers from Jaina's attempts to stop her from running while maintaining her attacks on the Sith.

Annoyed by Jaina's defence, the Sith Lord decided to inflict non-critical damage on Sal-Solo and thrust at her knee where Jaina could not defend her cousin. Before he could connect, a massive telekinetic shove from Jacen sent him through the wall at such velocity he dented the wall across the hallway and burst into a puddle of bloody meat and shattered bone. Temporarily distracted, Jacen barely had time to fall to the ground to dodge an attack from his opponent and his lightsaber bounced out of his hand and rolled away under a shelf. The fall broke his concentration on the Force and almost made him pass out again, but he clung onto consciousness with sheer willpower. He barely noticed the downward attack aimed to split him head to groin when it was interrupted by Jaina's lightsaber impaling the last Sith Lord from shoulder-to-shoulder through his chest. Jacen yanked his opponent's lightsaber out of his hands and impaled him on his own blade through the heart as he fell forward.

Jaina immediately removed her helmet and grabbed her cousin, hugging Sal-Solo close and whispering calming words into the traumatized girl's ear while using the Force to impose a sense of tranquility. Jacen switched off the lightsabers and muscled the dead weight of the body off him. He called his lightsaber to his hand and clipped it, as well as his sister's and the dead Sith Lord's to his belt. Jaina continued to calm Sal-Solo down while Jacen surveyed the area and checked out the new doorway in the back wall of the armoury he had created. The bloody mess was oozing off the remains of the wall, but nobody appeared to have noticed any of the damage. Like many other areas of the base, this hallway was deserted and was far enough away from the guards at the front of the armoury to go unnoticed. A quick glance at the map in his helmet showed the new door was not far from the hanger bay.

Satisfied with their current situation, Jacen walked back to his sister and knelt down beside her and their cousin.

"What's your name, darling?" Jaina asked softly.

Sal-Solo mumbled something against Jaina's armour and Jaina looked at her brother with a bored expression.

"A bit louder, please."

"Jillea."

"Well, Jillea," Jaina said. "We'd like to take you home. Do you want to go home?"

"Yes," Jillea replied around a moan. "I don't like it here."  
"Neither do we," Jacen said.

"I don't like you!" She screeched at him. "You're a meanie!"

"I'm not a meanie!" Jacen exclaimed. "You were being difficult!"

Jillea burst out in tears again and cried against Jaina's shoulder. Jaina glared at her brother meaningfully.

"What?"

"You stunned her and stuffed her in an equipment bag," Jaina replied matter-of-factly, as if that was explanation enough.

"You would've too if you had a six year old uttering death threats to you."

"I thought you were good with kids," Jaina regarded him suspiciously.

"I was nice," Jacen replied defensively. "I took the time to make sure the blaster wasn't on kill before I shot her. Can we go now? The hanger bay is nearby."

* * *

Klaxons blared and blasters whined as the intruders fought through security details, doors, and defences toward their ship. Mandalorians lined the halls, taking cover behind doorways and peeking out to fire shots at Eriana and Nelani. Many of the blaster bolts were redirected at the person who shot them with the flash of a lightsaber, but the Mandalorian armour easily absorbed any damage. Nelani huddled behind a door while Eriana deflected blaster bolts with two lightsabers, effectively creating a stalemate between the Mandalorians and Jedi.

"Now what?" Nelani asked.

"Cut a hole," Eriana suggested. "We'll find another path."

"Any preference?"

"Up, down, through that door, does it look like I care?"

Nelani shoved her lightsaber blade into the deck below her and the hilt pulled itself out of her hand and jammed itself into the deck plating. Air began to whistle around the hilt as the molten deck plating slowly got sucked out the hole.

"Eriana!" Nelani screamed. "I think I cut through the hull! The blade is getting sucked in!"

Eriana spared a glance at the lightsaber hilt that was now half way embedded into the floor. She swore and passed a lightsaber back to Nelani, refocusing her defence with the one blade.

"Try the door, and hurry!" Eriana commanded. The lightsaber continued its slow descent through the floor plating, eerily similar to an hourglass slowly dropping its last grains of sand.

Nelani hacked a rough diamond shape into the door and used the Force to shove the metal plating. She stepped through the hole and found herself in a cargo bay full of crates. Eriana stepped through a moment later and she flicked the diamond-shaped door plating back up to cover the hole, not even concerned that it would not slow down the Mandalorians for more than a couple seconds.

"The ship is that way." Eriana pointed to one wall. "Make another door. I'll hold them off."

Nelani ran to the wall Eriana had pointed at and leapt on top of a stack of crates against the wall. She proceeded to slice another hole through the wall while Eriana used the Force to move a crate in front of the door. A hastily fired blaster bolt grazed her leg, dropping both her and the crate to the ground. She activated her lightsaber to defend herself as more blaster bolts came from the hallway and the Mandalorians pushed the door plating out of the way.

"Come on!" Nelani shouted from on top of the stack of crates beside a new glowing hole in the wall.

"Keep going!" Eriana shouted and did a back roll to get to her feet. "Get to the ship, I'll be right behind you!"

The lightsaber finally burned through the deck plating, creating a three centimetre diameter hole open to vacuum right in the middle of the Mandalorian squad pursuing the Jedi. Temporarily distracted by the immediate backward pull, the squad was yanked backwards toward the door. Eriana took this opportunity to run and leap through the hole Nelani had created, but misjudged with her injured leg. She landed mid-chest on the opening screaming in pain from the red-hot motlen steel left by the lightsaber that seared her along the rib cage. Blaster bolts began to follow her again and she threw herself through the hole as quickly as she could, earning herself more sear marks on her arms and legs. She fell several metres to the ground where she lay stunned for a moment staring at the ceiling. The burning sensation helped her recover quickly and she used the Force to remove the molten steel eating at her body before picking herself up and jogging as best she could across the second cargo bay to where Nelani was carving another hole in the wall. Blaster bolts soon followed her, but she deflected them painfully with her lightsaber as Nelani completed her cuts. Every movement screamed agony from the severe burns across her body. The Mandalorians dropped one at a time to the deck laying continual covering fire on the two Jedi.

"Got it!" Nelani exclaimed, opening her new door with telekinesis. To her relief, the sight of the _Solo Quest_ greeted her.

"Eriana, we have Sith!" Three Sith Lords activated their lightsabers on the other side of Nelani's door, beckoning her forward to fight.

"Sithspit! More Mandos piling though!" Eriana said amid a virtual blurry ball of light that her lightsaber had become.

Nelani took a deep breath and jumped in to attack the Sith, but a massive ball of fur appeared out of nowhere and tackled two of the Sith to the ground. A snap of his jaws and a flick of his tail left one beheaded and the other paralyzed. Blaster bolts from a red astromech distracted the third Sith long enough for Nelani to throw her lightsaber and bisect the remaining obstacle.

Eriana backed herself through the hole, still deflecting blaster bolts, but Nelani could sense she was tiring quickly.

"Get to the ship!" She yelled. "Power up!"

Nelani, Astro and Womprat made a mad dash up the boarding ramp and Eriana soon followed. The second before Eriana made it to the ramp, Nelani punched the retraction button and the ramp ascended, forcing her to leap onto the ramp. Several last blaster bolts followed her, one hitting her left forearm, spinning her off balance and she tumbled down the ramp into the ship.

"Womprat, I hope you have a plan to get us out of here!" Eriana screamed. Nelani helped her up and half-carried her to the cockpit where the droid had plugged himself into the ship's computer.

"Nelani, you have to fly," Eriana ordered weakly. She fell into the navigator seat heavily. "I need a healing trance."

"But I've never flown anything bigger than an X-wing!" Nelani exclaimed with wide eyes. "There're more controls in here than _five_ X-wings!"

"It's easy," Eriana groaned. "Yell at Womprat to do whatever you want and the rest is like flying a snubfighter."

Blaster bolts began to glance off the hull and Nelani threw herself into the pilot's seat.

"Okay, Womprat, power up the engines."

"Sarcastic Query: What does the meatbag mistress think I have been doing?  
"R-R-R-Report: All systems have been fully activated and my ingenious solution to freeing the ship is ready."

"You're not seriously using that void-8, are you?" Eriana asked.

"Correction: _Modified_ void-8, meatbag," Womprat replied. "I have redesigned it into a shaped charge. It should vaporize the area behind our ship while simultaneously destroying the vast majority of the Mandalorian vessel and ejecting this landing bay away from the ship, providing us with a free access way to space."

"Couldn't you have just blown the door?" Nelani demanded, realizing her job had just become more difficult.

"Query: And what fun would that have been?"

A grenade exploded off the shield just outside the cockpit, electing a scream from Nelani.

"Just do it!" Eriana shouted. "It's not likely to get any worse! Shields and inertial compensators to full!"

"Glee filled battle cry: Take this, meatcans!"

Everyone watched the viewscreen as the seismic charge released its initial charge, sucked the energy back in, and pushed it away with massive force. True to his word, Womprat's modifications focused the destructive blast away from the _Solo Quest_ like a massive communications dish made of light, sheering through the bulkheads and causing massive damage across all decks. The hanger bay was launched free from the rest of the ship, tumbling toward the planet below.

"Womprat, release the docking clamps," Nelani ordered. She activated the repulsorlift and slammed the throttle to full reverse. The _Quest_ popped out of the hanger bay, scarred only by losing the communication dish on the edge of the hanger. She spun the _Quest_ on a vector away from the planet and the Mandalorian ship, and applied full throttle.

"We're free!" Nelani exclaimed. "Now what do we do?"

"Statement: I believe we set course for the Karlax Asteroid belt," Womprat replied. "Our standing orders are to return there when we have been separated from Master Solo."

"Eriana? Eriana!"

Nelani jumped out of her seat and to her friend's side. She had stopped breathing, and Nelani could no longer find a pulse.

* * *

Jaina carried Jillea on her hip while the little girl buried her eyes against Jaina's neck and Jacen took point leading them to the hanger bay. They had removed the cumbersome Manadalorian armour and wore some matte black jumpsuits and utility belts they found in the armoury. The armour was scaring Jillea, and anyone who saw her near the hanger bays would immediately know something was wrong, so the benefit of the armour no longer existed. Without the armour, they had more freedom of movement and Jaina was no longer nauseous from the disorienting HUD. Jacen kept his helmet on to access the facility map and guide them towards the hanger bay, which made his head look abnormally large on his unarmoured frame.

After a few moments Jacen stopped and waved his sister to his side.

"We're here," He whispered. "But there's a problem."

"What?" Jaina asked. "Hanger bay doors closed? A legion of troops in there?"

"Worse," Jacen responded. "Sekava. I can sense him. He's waiting for me."

"What do we do?"

"I'll distract him. You get to a ship and get her out of here. I'll meet you in the jungle."

"Can you take him?" Jaina asked. "You're not exactly in the best shape to get in a fight."

"I don't want to fight," Jacen said grimly and clipped her lightsaber onto her belt. "That'll be enough."

He removed the helmet and tossed it aside. A moment later he disappeared through the door into the hanger bay.

"Where's Meanie going?" Jillea asked. "Is he dead yet?"

"No," Jaina said through gritted teeth. "He's making a distraction for us so we can get away."

"Good," She said in the happiest tone Jaina had heard the girl make since she met her. "I hope he dies."

"You weren't raised by your mom, were you?"

"What?"

"Never mind," Jaina felt a signal from her brother and knew it was time to go. "Okay, here we go. On my back."

Jaina slipped into the hanger bay and saw her brother distracting a Sith Lord, but sprinted as quickly as she could towards the nearest ship she suspected had a hyperdrive. She charged up the ramp, hammer-fisted the ramp controls on her way past and entered the cockpit. A quick glance at the controls told her the ship had just landed and was refuelled, had a hyperdrive, and a cloaking device.

"Stay here and buckle up," Jaina tossed her cousin in the navigator seat and dropped into the pilot's seat. She fired up the engines and turned to watch the power display when she saw Jillea climb into the co-pilot seat.

"Daddy always lets me sit up front," Jillea pouted.

"Well when Meanie comes back, he'll be sitting up front," Jaina warned Jillea. "And I get really cranky when Meanie doesn't get to sit in the front with me."

"Crankier than my daddy?"

"Way crankier," Jaina said darkly. "Did I tell you the last time I met your daddy I arrested him?"

Jaina tweaked the repulsors to bounce the ship up and slammed the throttle to full, blasting out of the hanger bays as Jillea's eyes looked at her new friend in a mixture of fear and shock.

Jaina activated the cloaking device and flipped the ship around to land in the forest near the facility. After a moment of searching, she found a clearing and set down.

"Why are we stopping?" Jillea moaned. "I want to go home!"

"We're waiting for Jacen, and I'm going to look for any tracking devices so we _can_ get home," Jaina explained.

The sensor panel started beeping for Jaina's attention.

"Sithspawn," Jaina cursed. "The moon is freezing over in this section. We'll be iced over in two minutes."

* * *

Jedi Knights Doran Tainer and Valin Horn stood before Wedge's desk in their flight suits as the admiral inspected a hastily-prepared report. The admiral sat behind his expansive desk, a re-creation of the one he had during his time as a general on Coruscant right down to the lack of anything cluttering its massive surface. Someone once said that an X-wing could be landed on his desk it was so large. Rumour had it that Valin's dad _had_ landed an X-wing on that desk many years ago, just after he joined the Jedi as a going away prank.

A lone datapad sat on the desk, displaying the Jedi report, complete with fuzzy images and misspelled words. A brooding, yet thoughtful look on the admiral's face suggested he was both miserable and thoughtful at the same time.

"You're sure of this?" Wedge asked for the third time.

"Absolutely, sir," Doran replied. "The location came from a reliable source of information, and we saw it with our own eyes. It's huge."

"And we think it's almost done. Sir," Valin finished. After years an informal relationship with Wedge, he was still having trouble adjusting to military protocol. "A ship that size..."

"I think I know the implications, Jedi Horn," Wedge eyed the younger version of his old friend. "But if you'd like to educate me, please go slowly. I don't want to miss anything."

"Umm...no, sir. Sorry, sir," Valin mumbled against his chest with his head down.

"You two are dismissed," Wedge ordered. "Consider this matter classified. Discuss it only with myself present."

"Sir?" Doran asked.

"Yes, Jedi Tainer?"

"I'd like for us to be considered to help you with the mission."

"What mission?"

"Well," Doran said. "I presume you'll want to blow it up, sir. I'd like to help."

"No promises," Wedge said with a grin. "Dismissed."

* * *

Jacen walked into the hanger bay calmly, hardly making an effort to hide his presence or announce it. He walked up to Sekava and stopped ten metres away to regard the man holding two red lightsabers threateningly.

"We meet again," Jacen said airily, as if greeting a friend he had not seen for years. "I trust I didn't injure you on Ossus."

Sekava spit at Jacen. "You Jedi are all the same. High ideals and grand agendas. You cannot defeat me this time." His shoulders twitched at random times and his arms shook in either anticipation or anxiety. Sekava seemed unable or unwilling to block his thoughts from Jacen, allowing him to sense fear rolling off Sekava in waves. The Sith was posturing, and doing a bad job of it.

"That's quite the collection of lightsabers you have there," Jacen said causally. He unclipped the Sith lightsaber he had collected in the armoury from his belt and tossed it to Sekava's feet. "I think that one goes with your current colour scheme."

Sekava mumbled something to himself and then slashed behind himself several times and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I can take him! Stop questioning me!"

Jacen reached into Sekava's mind and saw an image of a decapitated kid holding his red-haired head that was talking to Sekava, oblivious to the lightsabers hacking and slashing at his imaginary body. Clearly, Sekava was not firing on all thrusters.

"Hey, Jedi over here," Jacen called, bringing Sekava's focus back on himself. "Is something wrong?"

If Sekava was surprised by Jacen's compassionate voice, he did not show it. Instead he shouted, "It is time for you to die!"

"I was rather hoping to die of old age," Jacen said sadly. "Are you sure we can't negotiate?"

Sekava leapt at Jacen and slashed where the Jedi had been, but his lightsabers passed through empty air. Jacen had rolled underneath Sekava and snatched up the lightsaber hilt he had discarded a few moments earlier in a reverse grip and activated the blade. Sekava attacked with his right lightsaber, slashing at Jacen's head and body. Jacen easily deflected the blows Jensaarai-style using his commandeered lightsaber with the ease of an adult fencing an unskilled child. After several attacks, Sekava screamed something unintelligible and went on a slashing frenzy in the opposite direction from Jacen. Again, Jacen sensed a ghost in Sekava's mind that was not there – this time a naked Twi'lek female with half her head burned off and hanging from a severed lekku that dangled over her shoulder.

While this Twi'lek was an interesting figment, Sekava was heading towards the door where Jaina was hiding. Jacen reached out with the Force and swept Sekava's legs out from under him, crashing him on his back. A second telekinetic flick caused Sekava to slide across the floor and hit the landing strut of his ship not far from Jacen.

_Go,_ Jacen signalled through his twin bond.

Sekava stood up and looked at Jacen with utter confusion, as if he himself did not know why either of them was there. Sekava looked at Jacen's lightsaber and the one in his right hand and seemed to want to ask Jacen a question, perhaps to inquire what they were doing there. Jacen noticed his sister run past with Jillea and knew Sekava only had to glance over his shoulder to see them. He flicked the lightsaber hilt into a normal grip to catch Sekava's attention.

"Sekava?" Jacen asked. "Are you okay?"

Jacen sensed a voice speaking to Sekava, a sinister persona that came within the confused man's head, this time not associated with any images. Refocused, Sekava jumped up and attacked Jacen again, frantically using both lightsabers in an ineffective offense that did nothing but frustrate him with Jacen's impenetrable Soresu defence. When Jacen sensed his opponent tire, he feinted with a high attack and spun around in a quick pirouette with his blade held at ear height that caught Sekava's left blade and allowed Jacen to twist it away from his hand and flick it far away, deep into the hanger bay.

"Sekava, you need help," Jacen said reasonably, deflecting blows from the single lightsaber easily. He felt exhaustion creep into his limbs, but seeing Jaina escape the hanger bay in a Mandalorian ship refocused him on Sekava and he drew deeper on the Force. "Come with me. Let me help you. You are a good person; I can feel it. The Sith have hurt you and you need to heal. I can help you."

"You will help me by _dying_!" Sekava shouted in response, spittle flying from his lips. "When you are dead, I will be the greatest of the Sith!"

Jacen sensed a new attack and immediately jumped back from Sekava's rapid staccato attack. Sekava was now trying to use Vaapad.

"Bad idea," Jacen warned. "You're not fully trained in that form. It's too dangerous for you."

"My master says otherwise," Sekava grinned. Jacen could sense an image of Darth Krak goading Sekava on. "He says I will destroy you."

"He is wrong."

Sekava attacked with the sloppiest Vaapad attack Jacen had ever seen, which was still more dangerous than anything Sekava had thrown at him yet. He easily blocked the young Sith's random attacks with Soresu, feeling too sorry for his opponent to use Vaapad in response.

"Vaapad is too dangerous untrained," Jacen said matter-of-factly. "It's more dangerous to you than it is to me!"

Sekava's attacks became a furious blur of red light as Jacen blocked, parried, and danced his way out of being harmed. Three times Jacen noticed Sekava nearly took his own limbs off in his frantic attempts to control the intense lightsaber style, creating light burn marks from blows that barely nicked the skin. Jacen changed his defence slightly and bounced one of Sekava's mid-slash redirected attacks back at him, creating a gouge on Sekava's opposite shoulder. Sekava attacked with increasing ferocity and a roar, but Jacen sent the blade back again to clip the Sith's leg and carve a chunk out of it. Sekava fell to the ground with a cry of pain and Jacen jumped back to avoid a desperate slash at his ankles.

"I told you," Jacen said apologetically. He tossed the Sith lightsaber to Sekava's side and looked at him with pity. "I can still help you. Come with me."

A painful animalistic scream of defiance gave Jacen his answer as clearly as the lightsaber thrown at his head. He palmed the lightsaber blade away with a fistful of Force energy and backed away from Sekava.

"The offer is always open," Jacen said. "May the Force be with you."

Jacen sprinted out the hanger bay at full speed into a blizzard, blinded and disoriented with ice pellets scoring his skin like sand, unsure if his sister was even waiting for him.

* * *

Jaina pulled herself half way out of the engine compartment with the fourth tracer device she had located and looked back at Jillea.

"You can stop trying to take off," Jaina told her cousin. "I encrypted the controls."

"I want to go home!" Jillea shouted back, yanking on the control stick from side-to-side with childish ineffectiveness. "Take me home _now_!"

"Do you see Jacen?" Jaina shouted. "Until you do, we're not leaving!"

Jillea started to smash her little fists against the panel and screech with her highest-pitched voice, forcing Jaina to make a mental note to ask her brother how to silence voices without choking someone. Instead, she yanked Jillea out of the chair and held her in mid-air with the Force.

_Now I know why Jacen stunned you,_ Jaina thought as the child wailed even louder.

"I could stuff you in a very sound-proof weapon cabinet back here where you won't be able to damage anything!" Jaina tried to shout over Jillea's screams with no success.

_Jacen, get over here!_ Jaina thought through her twin bond. _I _need_ you!_

"He's not coming!" Jillea shouted. "He's dead! I want to go hooooooooome!"

_You're not the only one!_

Jaina pulled herself out of the engine compartment and walked up to the supply cabinet. Inside she found one of the standard wretched-tasting power bars and opened the wrapper. She strapped the girl into the navigator's seat and stuffed the power bar into Jillea's mouth. She looked Jillea right in the eye with her most menacing glare and a healthy dose of Force-based intimidation.

"You will eat that and sit here without making a sound," Jaina growled. "Or I'll put you outside in the freezing cold to look for my brother. Do you understand?"

Jillea's muffled response was cut short by a hammering sound on the boarding ramp.

"Stay here."

Jaina pulled out her lightsaber and hit the ramp release. Immediately a penetrating cold gust of wind blew into the ship, and before the ramp was even a third down Jacen barrelled in and rolled down the ramp. He was covered in snow and ice and his skin was almost blue.

"Jacen!" Jaina hit the ramp release twice, pausing it and then making it close back up. She grabbed a thermal blanket from the wall medkit and raced to put it around his unconscious frame. Jaina rushed to the cockpit and fired up the engines. Thankfully the engines had not frozen up, but they were colder than she liked. She set them to the warm-up setting and went back to her brother.

"Bet you wish you had that thermal suit again, eh?" Jaina asked as she pulled him into a hug.

"I'll t-t-take anything t-t-thicker than s-s-s-silk," Jacen said, awake again. He pulled his sister close and hugged her to try warming himself up. She rubbed his back and felt him draw on the Force to counteract his chills and regain his strength while he drained some heat out of her body as well. Within a minute he was no longer shivering and colour had returned to his face, but she felt chilly.

"Thanks," Jacen released his sister and pushed her towards the cockpit. "Let's go."

Jaina went to the pilot's seat and Jacen crouched in front of Jillea.

"Do you know what's going on?" Jacen asked. His eyes had dark bags underneath, making him look unnaturally menacing, but she hid her fear of him well.

"You're taking me home," She said, implying it as an order more than a fact.

"Yes," Jacen admitted. "But do you know why?"

"I told you to."

"Considering I'm more inclined to lock you in the airlock than listen to you," Jacen said with a grin. "That is far from correct.

"Your dad has lied to the galaxy and betrayed Corellia to an alliance that will destroy Corellia and all its allies. We are going to bring you back to him to stop him."

"We're ready to take off," Jaina announced. "Better strap in."

"You don't have to agree or disagree with us," Jacen told Jillea. "We're going to give you what you want, which is exactly what your dad doesn't want."

"Daddy doesn't want to see me?" Jillea asked with wide eyes.

"Oh, he wants to see you," Jacen said both sympathetically and menacingly. "But his new bad friends don't want you to see him. Why do you think he was forced to send you to this stupid moon? Do you see how bad these people are? They're making your daddy do things he doesn't want to do. Things you don't want to do."

Jacen moved to the co-pilot's seat and smiled at his sister. "Can we go now?"

Jaina pulled back the controls and hit the throttle, creating a gut-wrenching launch off the moon and sent the ship soaring into the atmosphere.

"Check the sensors," Jaina ordered her brother. He flicked some switches and examined a display.

"Either the sensors are frozen or we're being followed by a tree," Jacen said. "Hang on."  
He reached out with the Force and focused on the area behind them. He could sense no pursuit.

"I think we're fine," Jacen said. "I'll warm up the navicomputer."

"Where should we go?"

"Karlax Asteroids," Jacen said automatically. "I told Eriana if anything happened to us to head to our supply depot there. We found an abandoned mining facility there on one of the larger asteroids. It's pre-Republic, so it's been abandoned forever. We keep spare parts and supplies there, just in case."

"It's not that close," Jaina said. "I'd be surprised if they made it with the damage the ship took."

"Even if they went somewhere else, Eriana knows to go there to meet me."

The navicomputer chimed, so he entered the coordinates to calculate the jump.

"Whenever you're ready," Jacen smiled at his sister.

A minute later, Jaina made the jump to hyperspace, leaving the Mandalorian base behind.

* * *

"You're sure, Wedge?"

"Absolutely, Tycho. It's massive. At least three times the mass of _Lusankya_."

Tycho let out a low whistle. "Is it done?"

"Almost. The data isn't exact, but it looks close."

"What're we going to do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I suppose it is. I'll get some of my best on it. I wish we had the Wraiths for this one."

"Keep it quiet. I don't want Luke or the others finding out just yet."

"What?"

"Luke will stop us to prevent an incident, but we can't let that thing be used against us. Given where it is, I doubt they want anyone to know about it anyway. Our resources together can more than handle this mission, but I can't do it alone."

"Just like the old days. Okay, I'll keep it quiet."

"Good man. I'll be in touch. Wedge out."

* * *

A massive Mandalorian in black armour jumped off the speeder and elbowed the first person he saw across the face. The unconscious victim spun around twice, twisting in an odd pirouette to the ground. In the wake of the larger man, the other four heavily-armed Mandalorians that departed from the speeder were given a wide berth as they made their way across the garage area of the base. Snow and frost slowly melted off the commandos as they travelled through the base toward the command chamber, leaving a trail of water in their wake that nobody dared to follow.

Commander Braagan was waiting for the commandos with arms crossed and guards at the ready to deal with the angered and dangerous team before him.

"You have failed our cause again!" Braagan removed his helmet, as if to look at the traitors more closely. "I expected more from a warrior of your reputation when dealing with Jedi!"

"Perhaps you would have fared better, _commander_," Lanos responded. "Have you ever faced a Jedi as powerful as Solo?"

"Solo _and _his sister are safely under the influence of our ysalamiri in our brig," Braagan said smugly. "They will be presented to our Sith allies, and, I assure you, I will gain much favour for that."

"Commander!" A trooper shouted, rushing into the room past the commando team. "They've escaped! The Jedi have escaped!"

"What?" Braagan demanded. "How did they get out?"

"No idea," the winded trooper responded. "But they beat up Lord Sekava and several other Sith and stole a ship."

"Not so easy to contain, now, are they?" Lanos asked smugly.

"You..." Braagan started, and a moment of revelation sparked in his eye. "You _betrayed_ us! You _helped_ the Jedi!"

"And you're snortin' glitterstim," Trigger laughed. "We ain't ever helpin' no Jedi."

"Strip these commandos of their gear and lock them up," Braagan shouted at his troops. "I will deal with them later."

Before Lanos's team could react, powerful blue stun blasts slammed into their armour from all sides. Squeak and Lanos went down immediately, and Blade followed with her vibrosword half way out of its hilt. Parmis fired a shot off that missed Braagan's head by mere centimetres and destroyed a nearby display terminal and Trigger had pummelled two assailants into unconsciousness before they were overwhelmed by stun blasts.

Shaking from the thought of the nearly-fatal blaster bolt, Braagan replaced his helmet and ordered the removal of the traitors from his midst. He was glad nobody could see the relieved smile behind his helmet. Once again, someone else would take the fall for his mistakes, and he would enjoy the promotions associated with stepping on the little guys.

* * *

One desperate slide after another, Sekava pulled himself along the hanger bay toward the doors using his one good arm. The injuries inflicted by Solo prevented him from standing, or even using both arms to pull him toward help. Anger rippled through him, driving him on and giving him the determination to withstand the sheer agony that made it feel like his body was trying to rip itself in half with even the slightest movement. The gouge in his leg tore open, leaving a bloody streak across the floor despite the light cauterization caused by the lightsaber. Sekava could barely look down for fear of seeing his own bone staring back at him. He did not know how deep the cut was, but he knew a chunk of flesh was not where it should be.

His shoulder was a mess as well. The cut was not as bad as he initially thought, but it still hurt too much to do anything with it. The remaining three injuries, the cuts from his own blade, were practically invisible to Sekava.

_Weakling!_ Darth Krak hissed at Sekava. _You will never defeat Solo like this!_

All Sekava could do was grunt in painful acknowledgement and ignore the voices.

_You must recover and become greater! _Learn_ from your mistakes!_

A pained grunt escaped Sekava's lips as he threw extra effort into pulling himself toward the door. Tears flowed freely down his face; tears of pain and disappointment in himself. He failed _again!_

As Sekava finally reached the door, it burst open to the clanking of armour and the sound of deep voices.

_Solo came back for me,_ Sekava thought wildly. _I must fight!_

To his own amazement, his lightsaber was still in hand, so he ignited it.

"Whoa!" One of the deep voices exclaimed. "Put that thing away!"

"Never!" Sekava screamed and started waving the lightsaber in what felt like a defensive manner. "Never give up!"

"Ah, screw it. I'm not paid enough for this."

With a flash of blue light, Sekava's world went black.


	9. 10 Days

**AN: My apologies for the week delay. My beta has been too busy to get to my chapters and, since she is a good friend of mine, I couldn't ask her to rush while she had stuff going on. I will post weekly as I have chapters available, but I may need to hold off another week here or there. Everything is written to completion, it just needs an extra set of eyeballs to make sure I haven't made any glaring errors. And I'm posting early this week because I'm heading off to a campsite tomorrow.**

**Please enjoy and review :)**

* * *

**10 Days...**

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day, fellow sentients.

"The Jedi coalition appears to be weakening after the destruction of the illegal mobile Jedi Temple as reports indicate leaders of Jedi-affiliated planets are questioning the Jedi's ability to lead this new found dictatorship they have created.

"Causing further destabilization to the Jedi is the open bounty placed all Jedi in the galaxy following the illegalization of the Jedi religion in a surprise late night vote by the Senate. The bounties claim a fifty-percent bonus will be given to any Jedi turned in alive, and base bounties are as follows:

"Fifty million credits for Jedi Master Luke Skywalker or Jedi Knight Jacen Solo. Forty million credits for any other member of the Solo-Skywalker family. Jedi Council members and other Jedi Masters are valued at twenty million, Jedi Knights are worth ten million, and all other Jedi are worth two million credits each.

"Proponents of the bounties claim that capturing the remaining Jedi will cause their alliance to fall apart, ending the war sooner. Senator Marvis Cree, with whom I had the pleasure of interviewing yesterday, will be campaigning on the streets of Coruscant today to gather public support for this bill.

"Important news from the Corellian sector: Thracken Sal-Solo has received the title of Interim Diktat following his successful no-confidence vote against former Diktat Aidel Saxan. A general election will occur within ten Corellian days, at which time the new Diktat will be selected.

"There have been some unconfirmed reports of unrest within the Corellian sector, on which we are attempting to gather more information. Stay tuned for details.

"Finally, as you can see in the images here, Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo of the Hapes Cluster has been seen making public appearances with Augber Mecve, son of Chria Mecve who represents the planet Charubah in the royal court. The Mecve family's traditionally strong anti-Jedi policies make him an interesting choice for the consort of the Queen Mother, a Jedi herself, and the full political implications of this arrangement have yet to be learned."

* * *

Tahiri's dropped her morning caf as she watched the morning holonews report. She finally found the face she was looking for.

* * *

_Yoda_ dropped out of hyperspace directly inside the sweet spot between the magnetic poles that Face had identified. Moments later the ship disappeared from view as the cloaking device activated, and everyone on the ship breathed again.

"Well, that was fun," Tyria said sarcastically. "Dorsk 83, passive sensors only. What's going on out there?"

"There's a fleet of about eighty ships and the shipyards," Dorsk 83 responded. "There are some weapon emplacements, but nobody's shooting at us yet."

"That doesn't mean they won't be," Han said. "Kill all outside lights. Thrusters only. Let's take 'er in nice and slow."

"General, the cloak..."

"Is insurance," Han interrupted. "Not a crutch. Luke picked me for a reason."

"Yes, sir," Tyria said stiffly. "Thrusters only, Lowbacca. Take us in. Face, did you copy that?"

"Yeah, heard ya get your butt handed to you," Face replied with a snicker to his former squad mate. "We'll hold off until the break point. We're not too concerned about these new stealth X-wings they hooked us up with, but I'd be more concerned with a bigger ship. Take your time, _Yoda._ We're not in a rush."

"Wraiths are ready, sir."

"Thank you," Han replied. _Maybe this command thing ain't so bad after all._

* * *

When Kyle Katarn started considering all the places that Lando Calrissian could go, combined with various tidbits of information he gathered from Tendra Calrissian, he determined Lando's disappearance was likely related to his success at running a luxury taxi service in the city of Chartralion on Virtos. Virtos, as one of the few planets fortunate enough to escape the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, was a relatively wealthy planet that had attracted the attention of several mobsters looking to set up a racketeering ring on the successes of the many other business people flocking to Virtos.

What Kyle did not consider was that Lando's organization would become so successful that the mob would come after anyone looking for Lando.

Mere hours into his search after traveling through throngs of wide-eyed tourists, dilapidated and nearly deserted areas of Chartralion, and after speaking to several of Lando's taxi drivers, Kyle found himself being backed into an alleyway by five blaster-wielding mobsters.

"I don't suppose you're from the tourism agency?" Kyle asked the thugs.

The stun blast that claimed his consciousness answered that question.

* * *

The stolen Mandalorian ship landed in the Karlax Asteroid Mining Facility hanger beside the _Solo Quest_. The _Quest_ still bore some carbon scoring from the battle and turbulent escape, but holes in the hull were being welded over with fresh sheets of military-grade armour plating by Womprat. Jacen noticed the escape pod had been replaced with one of the spares, and Nelani was working on installing a new communication dish.

"You stay here," Jacen ordered Jillea on his way out of the ship. Jaina locked out the controls again and followed her brother out.

"Or else," Jaina added.

As the siblings crossed the hanger bay toward the _Solo Quest_, Eriana descended from the ship and limped towards them wearing nothing more than a med robe and bacta patches. Her left arm was in a bacta cast and she seemed to wince with every breath.

"When your pod went down, we feared the worst," Eriana said, giving him a tentative one-armed hug. "Was the mission a success?"

"Resounding," Jacen smiled. "We kidnapped Jillea Sal-Solo. They were actually stupid enough to lure us into a trap on the planet they were holding her."

"Wow," Eriana said. "Bonus points for the Jedi. Now what?"

"You tell me," Jacen said. "What meat grinder did you end up in?"

Eriana's eyes darkened and she looked at Jaina apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Jaina. Karth was injured in the attack. A blaster bolt went right through the gunner turret and…we were knocked out with gas before we were boarded and kidnapped. There wasn't anything we could do. He..." Eriana's voice trailed off, but the words were written across her face in grief.

Jaina's face went white. Jacen caught her around the waist to keep her from falling down and walked her to a nearby cargo container for her to sit on. Nelani jumped down from on top of the ship and ran up to the twins. Jacen left Nelani to console his sister and returned to Eriana.

"I thought he was special," Jacen said sadly. "He was a good Jedi."

"He was special, Jacen," Eriana agreed. "And he was a great Jedi. Nelani and I shared some words for him and we have his body in stasis for when we return to the Jedi."

"Thank you," Jacen said. He shook his head, but failed to remove the haunted look in his eyes. "I hate to appear callous, but what else is going on? And what _happened_ to you?"

"Nelani and I were kidnapped by the fleet that attacked us," She replied. "They tried turning me through torture, as if that would work."

She shot a wink and a smirk at Jacen, which he returned.

"And they tried convincing Nelani she was a spy among Jedi ranks. It almost worked, but we were able to escape."

"So all this is the result of the torture?" Jacen asked, gesturing to her injuries. "I knew they were brutal..."

"No, I got all these trying to escape. I was in a healing trance on the way here, but I haven't had much time to heal. My arm has nerve damage from a blaster bolt, my leg was grazed, and I misjudged a jump and ended up on some molten metal."

"You've never liked doing things the easy way, have you?"

She ignored his jab and continued.

"I was just on the holonet and it seems there is a lot of political mayhem going on. The Jedi Temple was destroyed over Bastion. No word on survivors. They put a bounty on us. You and your uncle are worth fifty million creds to the Republic, and the rest of your family are worth forty million a head."

Jacen shook his head. "I'm not surprised. We were bound to get price tags sooner or later."

"The Republic is attacking the character of the Jedi with the help of the Mandalorian and Sith usurpers, and the Jedi alliance is fracturing from the pressure. Some uprisings have broken out in the Corellian sector that nobody seems to want to talk about anymore. Aside from a few border skirmishes, the Jedi don't want to attack outright, and the Sith don't want to appear to be the bad guys, so we're pretty much at a stand-still. I also contacted Master Skywalker. He wanted us to drop the second Void-8 on the moon and return to Bastion as soon as repairs are complete to join up with the fleet."

Jacen took a deep breath. The news hit him like a half dozen crates of durasteel piled onto his back one at a time. "No, there's no point; there's nothing on that moon. Everything is frozen solid and the Mandos are probably going to ditch the base now."

He took another deep breath and quickly ran through his priorities in his head. "We need to take care of Jillea first. I think we should head to Corellia and shed some light on the Sith ploy."

"Good idea," Jaina agreed, sniffing softly and holding a datapad up to her brother. Nelani and Jaina appeared to be leaning on each other for support as they walked towards Jacen and Eriana. "We should make copies of this and send one set to Uncle Luke, one to Talon Karrde, and several to holonet reporters."

"We'll leave a copy here and take one on both ships," Jacen said. "I don't want to take any chances."

"How long before repairs are…?" Jacen started to ask and was interrupted by a massive ball of fur that tackled him and licked his face frantically, causing everyone to laugh despite their grief for Karth. "Astro, off! Off!"

Jacen finally got to his feet, but Astro was still frantically jumping up at Jacen and trying to lick his face. Jacen finally seized Astro's front forearms and held him out so it looked like they were engaged in a bizarre dance.

"The ship?" Jacen asked, still dancing with Astro.

"Almost done," Eriana said, trying to stop herself from laughing at Jacen because of the pain from her ribs. "Womprat did some good work while he was protecting the ship. We still have some armour plating to replace and the one turret to fix, but after that it's cosmetic damage only."

"I have a couple calls to make, and Jaina can help with the ship," Jacen said. "I want to update Uncle Luke and check in with Tahiri."

"And I want to curl up in a bacta tank for twelve hours," Eriana said, starting back toward the ship. "Wake me when it's time to go."

* * *

"_Jacen? Thank the Force! Where have you been?" Darth Treulos's face melted with relief upon answering the call from the enemy, but her anxiety did not lessen at all._

"_The usual." Jacen smiled weakly. "I can't really talk about it, for your own safety."_

"_I understand," Treulos replied. "I found the mole in the Jedi."_

_Jacen's face brightened with a mixture of surprise and relief. "That's great! Who is it?"_

"_I don't want to say over this connection – someone may be watching," Treulos said. "I don't want to risk this getting out before we're in position to take them out."_

"_Good call," Jacen agreed. He turned and accessed some information and looked back at the holoimager. "I'll see if I can get Zekk to meet you. Any suggestions?"_

"_There's an old mining facility on Garos IV's north-western hemisphere. It should be far enough away for me to escape to so I can regroup with the Jedi without the Sith following. The Mandalorians used to mine crystals there for their cloaking devices, but they abandoned it over a year ago."_

"_Perfect. Good work, Tahiri," Jacen said with a smile. "I knew we could count on you."_

"_May the Force be with you."_

"Garos IV," Sekava said, tightening a replacement bandage around his leg to hold the chunk Jacen had carved out of it into place as he continued to stare at the silent holoemitter that he had used to hack into the Jedi transmission. The escape from the Mandalorian base was easy enough, despite his injuries. They kept him drugged overnight, performing emergency surgery on him to patch the holes the Jedi monster had created, but he no longer needed their attempts to control him.

The voices spoke to him. They explained that the Mandalorians would use him. They would pretend to be his friend, and take advantage of him. His keen mind did the rest. It saw the good intentions as a front so they could implant him with miniature droids and use them to control him. The Mandalorians infiltrating the Sith with one of their own. It made perfect sense.

He knew he had to escape, to get away from the Mandalorians and their schemes. He could only trust himself, and the Sith could not trust him if they sent him to get taken over by the Mandalorians. He had to prove himself. He had to be stronger. The path to strength was walking over the broken backs of the weak. He had to listen to the voice within.

"Jedi who don't expect me on a distant land."

_Traitors are everywhere. Trust only yourself_.

"They are friends to the Jedi monster who cannot be beat. Powerful enemies."

_Power you will control. If you kill them, you will prove your worth…_

"First I will need a little dragon to capture their power. And with their power I can become great."

…_and only then will you be strong enough to defeat Solo._

"This should be fun."

* * *

With a muffled explosion, some telekinesis, and a string of Corellian swear words, the air lock popped open to reveal a deserted chamber near the bottom reactor of the central Mandalorian shipyard facility. Two heads, one furry and one human, appeared through the airlock door and a soft growl echoed through the chamber.

"You said it, Lowie," Han agreed, retreating back into _Yoda_'s armoured atmospheric expansion tube. "Let's get this over with. Move out."

Lowie and Bhindi Drayson went first, covering the area with blaster and lightsaber in hand. Han went next with Artoo, and Ben made to follow his uncle.

"Not quite yet, shortstuff," Han stopped his nephew. "Maybe the next one."

"But Uncle Han..."

"Hey," Han crouched down next to Ben and put a hand on his shoulder. "I need someone I can trust to keep an eye on these Jedi for me while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?"

Ben nodded, still upset about not going along.

"Good," Han said. "Now go keep my chair warm."

Ben ran off, and Han joined Lowie and Baljos by the door leading to the turbolift shaft that Lowie had forced open and was being held with a length of pipe.

[Where's Ben?] Lowie barked as he worked on assembling the anti-grav platform they would use to ascend the turbolift shaft.

"On the ship where he belongs, where else?" Han said. "Nothing against the kid, but he has no field experience."

[He is my apprentice!] Lowie barked. [That was not your decision to make.]

Han glared at him with a look only a father of mischievous Jedi twins could master.

"If you want to stay here, be my guest," Han said. "Rig the power generator to blow and we'll get the data."

[You need me,] Lowie said, straightening up upon completing the platform setup.

"Yeah, I need you to rig this place to blow," Han ordered, joining Bhindi on the platform with Artoo.

Before Lowie could growl a response, Han activated the platform and left him behind.

* * *

Kyle Katarn had woken up in enough jail cells across the galaxy to immediately recognize he was in one when he awoke. Dark duracrete walls, facilities in one corner, a lumpy uncomfortable cot mounted to the wall, and the mixed smell of sweat, urine, and blood from a dozen species. Unlike most of the jail cells he had been in, this one contained durasteel bars instead of a stun field. He stood up and looked outside, seeing an empty cell across the hall from his own, but not much else.

"Lando?" Kyle called out when he got over his momentary dismay.

"Kyle? Is that you?" Lando's voice came from the right side of Kyle's cell. "Did Lu…?"

"Yeah," Kyle cut him off. Virtos was one of the planets that opposed Jedi influence, which was one of the reasons his lightsaber had been well-hidden in his backpack disguised as a long-handled glow-rod. After analysing the duracrete construction of his cell, he tentatively held his hand near the bars, which made the hairs stand up on his neck as the Force warned him of danger. "Said you owed him a favour."

"Don't touch the bars," Lando warned him. "They'll knock you out for a couple hours."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Kyle responded. "So when do we get out of here?"

"The guards just came by five minutes ago," Lando said. "They won't be around for another two hours."

"Surveillance?"

"One camera, end of the hall."

Kyle reached into the Force and released the latch on the cell. While unable to deactivate the energy field that coursed through the bars, he was able to kick open the cell with his boot without receiving a shock. He found Lando's cell beside his own, and could not believe the state of the other man. His left eye was swollen shut, half his head and the two ends of his moustache past the ends of his nose were shaved, and his right arm was in a makeshift sling that looked like it was part of a red cape that matched his now-torn red shirt. Several bruises and cuts were visible behind the tears in his clothing.

"Have you ever considered getting into the bacta trade?" Kyle quipped as he flicked the lock on Lando's cell and slid the door open.

"Cute, Katarn," Lando grunted as he stood up, favouring his right leg. "What's the plan?"

"The usual."

Kyle helped Lando limp down the hall toward the door, which sprang open. Two guards rushed through with blasters drawn.

"Back in your cells!" One guard shouted. Kyle merely flicked his hand toward the guards, and both sprung towards the bars on the cells on either side of the corridor. A shock from the bars knocked both guards out.

"That was easy," Kyle said as he pulled both blasters from the guards with the Force and handed one to Lando.

"Yeah, a little too easy."

"Don't go ruining a good thing," Kyle said. "I need to find my lightsaber."

They left the corridor of cells and entered an antechamber with a desk and two more guards. A pair of blaster bolts from Kyle's apprehended blaster dropped the guards face first onto the desk, and Kyle helped Lando along to the exit.

"Do you know anything about this place?"

"It's not very big," Lando said. "Outside this room are a couple of interrogation rooms, and I think there are some other rooms as well. Twenty people, tops."

"Okay, here's the deal," Kyle said as he telekinesed one of the guards off the chair and helped Lando sit in it. "You stay here and keep these guys stunned. I'm going for my lightsaber and to have a few words with the guy who runs this place."

"Bad idea," Lando said. "The Sith run this place."

"Now you tell me?"

"Get going. I want to go home."

"Right."

Kyle reached out with the Force and controlled his sphere of consciousness to slowly expand down the hallway outside the room he was in. There were two guards at one end guarding the room he sensed his lightsaber in. He estimated they were nearly a hundred metres away, well outside the distance of his stun bolts. Blaster bolts would be too loud and would alert half the base of his presence.

"No easy way to do this," Kyle said. He pushed the door open and drew on the Force to lend him speed. He sprinted down the hallway towards the guards, closing the distance in seconds. He watched as they slowly drew their blasters and fired at him. He continued sprinting at the blaster bolts with Force-lent speed and dropped into a front roll under the bolts at the last instant. His roll brought him within five metres of the guards, whom he quickly stunned with two shots from his blaster. Before he could open the armoury door, several other doors down the hall opened, and more mobsters appeared to discover the source of the two blaster bolts they heard. Several hastily fired blaster bolts hit the wall around Kyle, prompting him to use the Force to shove the armoured armoury door off its hinges. He ducked inside and blindly fired a couple blaster bolts behind him to warn off any mobsters who decided to get too close. Using the Force, he yanked a fully-automatic blaster assault rifle from the wall and several of the appropriate ammo clips from across the room to his hand. He loaded the blaster by hand, and then let the Force control the rifle as he fired blindly down the hallway while examining the armoury. He discovered a large quantity of military-grade rifles, pistols, and explosives stacked up on the walls. Using the Force, he found what he was looking for in a sealed heavily-built cabinet with a large lock on it.

_This should prove interesting,_ he thought.

A flick of his mind caused a blue beam of light to appear out of the top corner of the cabinet door. He twisted the handle around with his mind and the door fell to the ground with a heavy clatter. His lightsaber came to his hand, still carrying the remains of its disguise, and he dropped the blaster rifle he had been controlling with the Force.

After a few moments of quiet during which he removed the disguise from his lightsaber hilt, he hazarded a glance into the hallway. At least half a dozen mobsters were positioned at the doors down the hallway, some of which took pot shots at his head. What grabbed Kyle's attention though was a thin, angry-looking woman with a lightsaber hilt waiting near the exit on the other end of the hallway.

"I don't suppose you'd like to talk about this, would you?" Kyle asked, looking around the armoury again to see if anything could help him out.

"I'd love to," the Sith Lord replied in a sweet tone of voice. "Care to join me for a cup of caf?"

_Everyone's a comedian_, Kyle thought.

"Your place or mine?"

Finally something caught his eye – a stack of laser trip mines and some plasticized explosives. He called them to his hands with the Force and removed the top one from each stack.

"I was thinking my place," The Sith Lord replied as Kyle worked his makeshift bomb, incorporating more plasticized explosive and landmines. "By the way, my name is Tamra."

"Tamra. What a pleasure to meet you. I'm Piggy," Kyle replied. "I hope we can cut a deal. You see, I'm a bounty hunter. I've been hunting Calrissian for three weeks now."

"Piggy, the Jedi bounty hunter?"

"No Jedi here," Kyle responded. He added two more mines as he spoke and started wrapping some cable he spotted to hold it together. "Skywalker's academy kinda sucked, so I ditched. What can I give you to let me take Calrissian?"

"He's worth a lot to me," Tamra said. "And he has caused me some grief."

"I'll make sure he suffers," Kyle promised as he appraised his handiwork. "His wife set the bounty. Something about cheating and stealing from her."

"Maybe I'll claim this bounty myself."

"She hired _me_ to do it," Kyle said. "I'm the only one who can get the credits. I'll split it with you, sixty-forty."

"I want sixty," Tamra replied.

"I don't suppose I'm in a position to argue, am I?" Kyle asked.

"Pretty smart," Tamara said wickedly. "For a Jedi."

"Not a Jedi," Katarn insisted.

"Prove it." Kyle heard the distinctive _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber igniting down the hall and looked at the bomb in his hand.

"How could I possibly do that?"

Whatever her response was, throwing the wad of landmines and plasticized explosives down the hall and using the Force to activate the laser targeting systems took up the majority of his cognitive processing. As Kyle hoped, one blue beam of light strayed through the door into the armoury, just in range for him to throw his assault rifle across the beam and trigger the mine.

Kyle felt the heat from the massive plume of fire that hurled through the doorway against his back as he turned away for cover, and wondered absently if his clothes had caught on fire. When the fire cleared, he tentatively stuck his head out to view the damage, and nearly lost it to a vicious slash of red. He back rolled to his feet and activated his lightsaber as the well-scorched Sith lunged at him again.

He blocked slashes, parried thrusts, and side-stepped out of her way in a dance around the armoury as he tried to recover his balance and centre himself. She leapt high to slash him open from head to groin when a blaster bolt skewered her head and sent her off course.

"Nice shot," Kyle said, surprised to see Lando leaning against the door frame with a blaster rifle in hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Remind me never to invite you for drinks," Lando responded while surveying the fire damage in the hallway.

"You should see what I did to the guy who tried selling me life insurance."

"You're joking, right?"

* * *

The evil glare from the Weequay answered the bounty hunter's question as succinctly as any words could have, but he did not stop there.

"You're sending bounty hunters after a Jedi?" The young bounty hunter named Reicol asked. "But not just any Jedi. Jacen Solo. Who, by your own dossier, can absorb blaster bolts and fire with his bare hands. He can shoot lightning from his fingertips, neutralize any poison in seconds, block turbolaser blasts with his mind, and can beat even _you_ with a lightsaber. He can sense danger from a hundred metres away, he can control almost any animal, and he travels with a pet _Vornskr_. He's also the grandson of Darth Vader and was trained by the guy who killed Palpatine. He's probably one of the toughest gundarks ever born, and he could take on a cruiser worth of Mandalorians on his own. Did I leave anything out?"

"He doesn't feel pain?" Soora mocked Reicol. "I'm not offering a bounty for Jedi _dossier writers_, I want Jedi _prisoners_. I want Solo alive."

"Alive?" Reicol asked, gesturing to the two unconscious Jedi he had deposited on the floor minutes earlier. "You wanted Jedi; I brought Jedi. Alive. And now you want the biggest baddest one of them all, and you want him still kicking? I'm not saying it's impossible, but it won't be easy. It'd be a heck of a lot easier to _kill_ him, and even then that might be more difficult than killing a dozen other Jedi."

"If it were easy," Soora growled, tossing him a card authorizing the payment of the bounty, "I wouldn't be hiring scum like you."

"When this scum comes back with Solo," Reicol glared at the Weequay. "You'll be eating your words, old man."

The arrogant bounty hunter left the room, allowing Soora to inspect his new prisoners.

"That would have been much more impressive a speech if it wasn't the fourth time I heard it," Soora said to the unconscious Jedi. "What have we here?"

He fired a jolt of electricity into the younger prisoner, a young male human, to wake him up. A moment after the initial shock wore off, he realized who was in front of him.

"Tell me, young Jedi," Soora said with an unfriendly smile and a fistful of electricity that brought fear to his captive's eyes. "Where is Skywalker hiding the Jedi who survived Bastion?"

* * *

Pellaeon's office aboard his command ship offered Luke a stunning view of Bastion, available to him if his mind was not too cluttered to take it in. Luke stared out over the planet with his thoughts on the political mess he had on his hands.

"What makes this frustrating is that the reason everyone is upset is exactly what we can't tell them!" Luke exclaimed.

"If the galaxy at large knew the Jedi Temple survived the attack," Pellaeon explained patiently, "the Sith would continue to hunt down the Temple. And we can't tell them every Jedi survived the destruction of the Temple, because then the Sith would know the Temple survived."

"Unless we tell them we evacuated it, that our numbers weren't affected by losing it," Luke reasoned. "If they think the Jedi don't have the numbers to support the government, we can tell them that's not the case. The Temple was bait to draw the enemy out."

"And get blamed for wasting a seven-billion-credit space ship to take out a small attack fleet?" Pellaeon asked with an arched eyebrow.

Luke collapsed into a lounge chair against the wall and sighed.

"Whose stupid idea was this again?"

"Yours," Pellaeon said. "More or less."

Luke rubbed his forehead with his fingers, wishing Leia and Mara were there to help him think things through. He could almost feel the grey hairs poking out of his head with every second he thought about the situation. He finally looked back up at the old Admiral.

"What are their demands again?"

Pellaeon picked up a datapad and punched a button. After a few seconds, he began to read.

"'We, the representatives from Thyferra, on behalf of the members of the Jedi Federation, hereby request the Order of the Jedi to justify their continued leadership of this political, military, and economic alliance,'" Pellaeon quoted. "They do not specify more than the fact that they have doubts about the Jedi. Nearly all our allies are expressing similar sentiments to various degrees, except for a few like Kashyyyk who trust the Jedi explicitly. Unfortunately we haven't heard from Queen Mother Tenel Ka in days. The leader of sixty-three planets backing us would quiet some dissension. Our best assumption is that the attack is upsetting them, but we are unsure."

"Or something else is going on," Luke murmured.

"Sorry, m'boy, but you'll have to speak up," Pellaeon barked. "The ears keep getting bigger, but they don't work so well."

"Maybe Thyferra is trying to draw support away from us," Luke said. "There might be other forces at play here."

"Someone would have to pursue this possibility," Pellaeon mused. "Someone with both the political acumen to navigate the problems, and the ability to get out of tough situations."

"Too bad Leia isn't here," Luke sighed. "Or Jacen. This would be right up his alley."

"I guess you'll have to go yourself," Pellaeon said brightly.

"Me?" Luke asked in disbelief. "Gilad, I have half a billion things to do running this new government. I have the Jedi Order to keep in line, battle plans to oversee, there are Mandalorians and bounty hunters going after Jedi, Tenel Ka isn't responding to our messages, and I have half my admirals begging to hit hard targets."

"Which is all stuff the leader of any good government knows can be delegated," Pellaeon said brightly. "There are some situations that need the leader's hand to fix. Trust this old bantha to recognize that this is one of them."

Luke stood silently for a few moments, staring at the datapad requesting him to account for the Jedi's deficiencies. Ideas started popping into his head about things he would and would not be able to talk about, political advice his sister had once given him, and even desperate attempts to escape the situation.

"I don't suppose I can just hang up my cloak and retire to Tattoine, can I?"

"Thyferra is on the way to Tattoine," Pellaeon said with a smirk. "You might find yourself stopping there yet!"

Luke laughed and shook his head.

"A Jedi's gotta do what a Jedi's gotta do," He finally said. "The Jedi Council can take over the day-to-day operations, and you can oversee the fleet."

"So, keep doing what I'm doing?"

"Pretty much," Luke admitted. "I don't know what to expect."

"That's the beauty of politics, every year there's some new diabolical fool out there trying to cross you in new, inventive ways."

"You really need to work on your pep-talks, Gilad."

"I'm old," Pellaeon growled. "I'm allowed to say what comes to mind. By the way, it won't be appropriate for the leader of our federation to arrive in an X-wing. I'll assign a Star Destroyer as your command ship."

"Thanks," Luke said. "But I'll also be bringing my own shuttle along."

"If, by shuttle, you mean that scrap heap your brother-in-law calls a ship, I'd suggest getting some detailing done on it. It looks like it has been through twenty wars."

"It probably has," Luke admitted. "But the Thyferrans will be the least of my worries if I did that. What should I tell them?"

"Don't tell them the strength of the Jedi," Pellaeon advised. "Insist the Jedi have the strength to support the alliance, and that time will prove that. Also, be willing to stand down if necessary, but only at the insistence of a majority vote. If you throw in your lightsaber before the battle is over, we could be opening the door to a possible Sith infiltration. And finally, push the fact that you were selected as leader because of who _you_, Luke Skywalker, are, not because you are a Jedi."

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke said. "Thanks, Gilad."

"Now, you should get ready to go." Pellaeon passed him a datapad. "Captain Amada aboard the _Nimbus_ will be more than happy to bring you to Thyferra tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, boss." Luke saluted with a hint of sarcasm. "I'll have that report on your desk by next week."

* * *

Inside the dank cell that once held the Solo twins, Lanos's team stared helplessly at each other trying to figure out a way to escape. Assumed to be traitors by the base commander looking for a scapegoat, they had no weapons, no armour, and no reason to escape.

"Someone remind me," Squeak asked, "Whose brilliant idea was it to join the Sith? I just want that to be on record."

"Shut up," Trigger grunted. "We're Mandalorians. We follow Mandalore, and we do as we're told."

"This isn't following Mandalore," Blade responded dejectedly. "This is politics. We did our duty, but Solo's beat us. We did _nothing_ wrong."

"Maybe we're on the wrong side," Parmis said. "I mean, rumour has it that Fett rightfully owns the title. Maybe we should be following him."

"Urik won," Lanos said firmly. "We follow the winner of the title, and that's that."

"And whose word do we have on that?" Parmis demanded. "Urik's alone. Fett is still alive. Never has the title of Mandalore been won without the past Mandalore dying."

"Fett would be suspicious of anyone joining his ranks after abandoning him," Lanos reasoned. "We would not be welcome with him, and we have done nothing wrong. If we wait it out, justice will prevail."

"Do you really believe that?" Blade asked. "We've seen how these Sith operate. They don't care about justice. They want to _rule_."

"Yeah, they'll probably kill us off after we help them win," Trigger said. "I say we fight back."

"Oh, yeah, brilliant," Squeak said sarcastically. "I'll start chipping stones so we can make some spears out of the table legs. We'll take down the whole army ourselves."

Before Trigger could back fist Squeak, Parmis spoke up.

"Here's an idea: What if we capture Solo. We go out on our own and do what Mandalorians are meant to do – hunt the Jedi."

"If we turn him in, we would regain our respect," Lanos agreed, but spoke with a reluctant tone.

"Not to mention fifty million credits!" Trigger said. "We could more than retire on that!"

"Did you forget he kicked our asses twice?" Blade asked. "The bounty on him is that high for a reason. They don't expect anyone to actually get him, just wear him down until someone gets lucky."

"Yes," Parmis agreed. "But both times we didn't expect him. If we prepare and equip ourselves with the right weapons, we should be able to take him down."

"As brilliant a proposition as this is," Squeak moaned. "We're still locked in a cell."

"Then we'll have to get _out_ of the cell," Lanos said, heaving himself to his feet. "Let's make some weapons and prepare. I'm sure our jailers won't want us to keep breathing for too long."

* * *

The hover platform stopped five hundred metres above its departure point at the doors leading into the central database storage core of the Mandalorian shipyards. Naturally, the door locking mechanisms were sealed with an encryption protocol that would take most skilled slicers the better part of an hour to crack.

Between Artoo-Detoo and Bhindi Drayson, the door was opened within five minutes to reveal a large transparisteel dome set a couple metres below with a control panel suspended on a half-bridge over the centre of the data core. Artoo and Bhindi immediately moved to the control station and Han pulled the hover platform out of the shaft. He waited by the door with his blaster drawn waiting for something to happen, good or bad.

After a few moments Han checked his wrist chronometer and ran through the battle plan. At this point in time, the Wraiths should have their charges planted and be on their way back to their X-wings. Everyone was under communication silence, except in the case of an emergency, and even in such a case the Wraiths were instructed to be as discrete as possible.

"Done," Bhindi said to Han, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Already?"

"Did you think we were taking it with us?" She asked, pointing to the glowing datacore below. "We boosted Artoo's storage capacity before the mission, so everything worth getting is in him."

Han rolled his eyes and pushed the hover platform back into the lift shaft.

"Just what we need," Han muttered as they piled onto the platform. "More garbage to store."

* * *

Face Loran extracted himself from the Stealth X-wing slowly and carefully. Magnetically clamped to the outside of the largest power source he could detect in his designated area of the shipyard, the X-wing had thus far gone unnoticed by the Mandalorians. Based on the lack of lights across the dark sky, Face assumed his squad mates were meeting with similar success.

He activated the magnetic boots on his modified flight suit and slowly lowered himself toward the shipyard from the edge of the cockpit until he felt his boots start to pull him down. He dropped to the hull just fast enough that he needed to bend his knees to absorb the impact, and looked up at his X-wing. After he carefully punched in the access code, the cargo space door underneath the cockpit opened itself to reveal three large, flat disks about a metre in diameter strapped together. Each disk was the same colour as the shipyard and contained two hundred kilos of shaped baradium charges and a subspace detonator.

Face clicked the release for the charges and pulled them free. In the weightlessness of space, the charges floated easily at his command. He moved to the first designated location and placed the set of explosives onto the hull. The bottom charge clamped on with a light magnetic field and folded to hide itself against the armour, and the other two popped free.

_Two more to go,_ Face thought as he walked off with the remaining explosives in tow. _I just hope I'm around to see the pretty lights!_

* * *

"Drop it, you walking carpet!" Han ordered as he walked towards the command deck. "Luke put _me_ in command of this mission, and there's no bloody way I'm bringing an eight year-old into a potential light fight!"

Lowie growled something under his breath and restricted the desire to put a hole through the nearest bulkhead.

"Hey, Luke raised Jacen as much as I did," Han spun around pointed up at Lowbacca's face. "You can blame _him_ for personality differences! Now put it behind you. That's an order."

Before Lowie could respond, Han took the last steps toward the bridge and entered it.

"Status report?" Han demanded. Ben jumped out of Han's chair and stood beside Tresina. Lowie took his place at the conn without another growl.

"The Wraiths are docking now and report their mission a success," Tyria said. "Bhindi and Artoo are copying the data to our central core as we speak. So far it looks like we haven't been noticed."

"Are they done closing the hole?" Han asked. "We don't want any traces we were here."

"Almost," Tyria responded after a moment. "We should be good to go in five minutes."

Just as predicted, five minutes later _Yoda_ finally decoupled from the bottom of the shipyard. A small shudder rocked the ship, setting off warning bells in Han's head.

"What was that?" He demanded.

"A small burst of air escaping from the airlock," Tyria responded. "Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to wo-?" Han's response was cut short by an explosion that sent the ship tumbling.

"Full sublight! Calculate the shortest path through the gravity well!" Han shouted.

"Raise shields and arm weapons!" Tyria shouted.

"Neg weapons!" Han shouted. "Divert all weapon power to engines and shields. There's no way we can fight that!" He pointed at the holo display that indicated a large division of the Mandalorian fleet moving towards their location.

"All hands, brace for impact!" More torpedoes impacted the hull of _Yoda_, sending flashing red damage reports to the bridge consoles.

"Chewie, get us out of here!" Han shouted at Lowbacca.

[Engines are at half power!] Lowie shouted back. [The cloak uses…]

"Shut that damned cloak off!" Han shouted at nobody in particular. More explosions sent people tumbling across the bridge. Han barely recognized Ben's crumpled form under the console behind Tyria when another explosion sent debris out of Dorsk 83's console and into the young Jedi's head.

"Han!" A voice came across the comm. Han recognized it as Face.

"Face, tell me something good!"

"We can scramble the Wraiths," Face said grimly. "It'll give them more than one target to shoot at. We're ready to launch."

"Do it!" Han shouted. "Try to get clear, too."

"One bird down," Face reported as Han's console indicated five Wraiths launched. "That last explosion hit the hanger bay and damaged a ship. Kel's staying behind with you."

"Wonderful," Han muttered. Lowbacca finally got _Yoda_ under control and fewer explosions rocked the ship, but upon examination of the tactical holo Han determined the enemy ships were still closing. The Mandalorians were near the shipyards, and _Yoda_ was still twenty seconds shy of the jump coordinates with more torpedoes incoming.

"Tyria, do you have the detonation codes for the shipyard?" Han asked.

"Yes," Tyria responded. "Luke said…"

"Use them!" Han ordered. "Send the detonation code _now_!"

"Sir?" Tyria asked.

"It's them or us!" Han shouted over the new volley of explosions that sent bodies tumbling across the bridge. "Blow the kriffen shipyards!"

[Ten seconds to jump window,] Lowie reported.

"Sending the detonation code!"  
[Nine!]

Bright fireballs began to erupt in the lower section of the shipyard, blossoming outward as they quickly tore through the superstructure of the facility.

[Seven!]

"Wraiths, jump clear!" Han ordered. "There's nothing more you can do out there!"

[Five!]

"Acknowledged, _Yoda_," Face responded.

Shrapnel and enflamed fuels spewed out of the shipyards, engulfing the pursuing Mandalorian fleet and overwhelming their defences, adding their fuel to the fire.

[Three!]

Large chunks of Mandalorian ships tumbled through space, propelled at high velocity by the exploding gasses and armaments that made up the enemy fleet, several of which travelled directly at _Yoda_.

[One!]

A jagged chunk of metal tore through the hull of _Yoda_ directly through the port sublight engine toward the power relays that brought power from the main generators to the drives.

[Jumping!]

_Yoda_ leapt into hyperspace, drawing sighs of relief from her entire command crew. A moment later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace as the shrapnel tore through the entire hyperdrive power grid.

"What happened?" Han demanded.

[The hyperdrive is not receiving power,] Lowie growled. [There's major damage to the power conduits!]

"We're on the edge of a nebula," Tyria said. Strands of loose hair hung in front of her dirtied face as she stared down at the console. "I don't know which nebula, the computers are down. I'm detecting a high percentage of iron and…stuff in it."

"'Stuff?'" Han asked. "That's not very helpful!"

"We're running on battery power throughout the ship's systems," Tyria said, drawing on her Jedi patience to restrain the desire to snap back at Han's sarcasm. Her loosened hair and scorched face gave her a look that would not look out of place on an enraged Wookiee. "Only the starboard sublight engine is operating on main power, but it could be damaged."

Han considered his options quietly for a moment.

"Any sign of the Wraiths?"

"None," Tyria replied. "I don't even know if they made it out of there. The main computer is offline and with it, historical sensor data."

"Ease us into that nebula," Han finally said after a full minute of silence. "The iron will hide us from sensors until we can assess the situation and make repairs. Get everyone we can into pressure suits and start looking at everything. We might be here a while, and it won't be long before the Mandos start looking for us."

* * *

Aboard the _Lady Luck,_ as it orbited one of the distant moons around Virtos, Kyle kept a close eye on the sensors as he waited for Lando to clean himself up and tend to his wounds. The escape to the ship was relatively painless, made easy by one of Lando's taxi drivers appearing out of nowhere to pick them up. At the office for his operations in Chartralion, Lando gave orders for his operations manager to take over while he returned to his wife at their Personal Defence Droid facility with the promise that he would provide some droids for his manager's protection.

"Good thing you showed up when you did," Lando's cheery voice startled Kyle out of his thoughts about the political implications of the war. "But why is it we always meet in a jail?"

"I wouldn't exactly say it's a joy of mine," Kyle replied. "No sling?"

"It was a show for the Sith," Lando smirked, moving his arm in its full range of motion before taking the co-pilot's seat. His newly shaved head and the stylish black bacta patch over his eye made him look more like an old sea-faring pirate that Kyle had read about in Corellian history. "They kept poking and prodding it and I kept acting that it hurt."

"Right," Kyle said. "Figure it out yet?"

"Why you're here?" Lando asked. "Of course. Tendra asked you to find me, didn't she?"

"Skywalker," Kyle said. "He wants your help."

"What's that old farmboy up to? Another election to fix?"

"Nah, worse," Kyle said. "He wants you to find Drayson, Page, Col Serra, and anyone else who can help out in a rebellion."

Lando's eye grew wide with surprise.

"He sure doesn't ask for much," Lando said. "Most of those guys disappeared for good reason the second hostilities broke out. Col Serra hasn't been heard from in decades, forget years."

"Then we'd better get looking," Kyle said. "Where should we start?"

Lando grew quiet, staring out into the stars long enough for Kyle to question if Lando had fallen asleep with his eyes open.

"Krant," Lando finally said. "We'll start at Krant."

* * *

A long thin blade of wood slammed through the weak undercoating of the trooper's helmet the moment he opened the door. His head fell limp and his body fell off the makeshift spear before the trooper behind him barely had time to react when a similar fate claimed his life.

Blade rushed forward with her two makeshift swords and attacked three more guards as her companions retrieved the weapons from the two fallen troopers and distracted the remaining guards from attacking her. She spun towards a trooper behind her as he tried drawing his sword and used her momentum to shove the wooden blade into a weak spot between the armour plates, piercing deep through the man's stomach. She wretched his sword out of the sheath in time to block the butt-end of a blaster from splitting her forehead open with her right forearm, and ploughed the second wooden blade deep into the guard's throat, nearly severing his head completely. The third guard fell to Trigger's appropriated blasters and the hallway fell silent. Over the next few moments the team gathered what weapons they could find on the dead guards in silence and left the prison area.

"I heard them say they were storing our gear in the south block near the hanger," Parmis said. "Anyone know where that is?"

"That way," Squeak pointed. "I took the time to memorize the base layout. There are a few small rooms near the hanger they could be in."

"Perfect," Lanos hefted his blaster and set a grim look on his face. "Let's steal a ship and get out of here."


	10. 9 Days

**AN: Another early one because I'm going away tomorrow. Enjoy, and don't forget to click that review button at the bottom! I take criticism of all sorts (good and harsh) about my writing as it helps me grow as a writer. Thanks :)**

* * *

**9 Days…**

The Mandalorian ship landed in Coronet at the President's private landing pad at a reception of Interm-Diktat Thrackan Sal-Solo, Leader of the Opposition Aidel Saxan, several other government officials, guards, and, to Thrackan's displeasure, a media entourage. According to the Sith, they wanted to have the dealings with their partners covered in the media to prove to the people that nothing illegal was going on.

_If they only knew what _wasn't_ recorded._ Thrackan thought to himself miserably.

The boarding ramp lowered, and a single person wearing Jedi robes appeared.

"Jacen Solo!" Thrackan exclaimed. "Illegal Jedi! Shoot him!"

"Bad idea," Jacen said, holding up a hand. "They might hit your daughter."

Jacen gestured up the ramp and Jillea and Jaina walked down beside him.

The entire media circus perked up at the sight of Jillea. Reporters were immediately speaking to their holocameras about the Jedi kidnapping and how the Jedi were appearing to be caving.

"Go ahead," Jacen said to Jillea. She ran up to her dad and hugged him.

"I don't like your friends, Daddy!" Jillea shouted. "They're mean!"

"The Jedi aren't Daddy's friends," Thrackan said with an embarrassed smile to the girl in his arms. "They're not going to hurt you anymore."

"No, not the Jedi," Jillea shook her head. "I like cousin Jaina and Jacen. Can I visit them more often?"

Thrackan's face went white. Jacen was glad his memory-rub was making the girl forget her maltreatment, but felt a twinge of guilt over it. He made a promise to himself that if he did spend time with her in the future, he'd make it up to her.

Jacen stepped forward with a datapad and pressed a button on it. A recorded conversation between Jillea and Thrackan played loudly.

"_Hi Daddy!"_

"_Hi there Jillea. How's daddy's girl?"_

"_I'm okay, but it smells funny on this moon and those guys with armour are scary. When are you going to come visit me? There aren't any kids to play with here."_

"_Daddy is very busy. Have you met Daddy's friend, Darth Irkron? He likes playing with kids."_

Jacen stopped the recording.

"Not enough?" Jacen asked. He pressed a couple more buttons.

"_Lord Krak," _Thrackan's voice said.

"_Sal-Solo, you are a fool. You assured us you could sway the _entire_ populace of the Corellian sector with your plot to have us kidnap your daughter. Uprisings on Talus and Tralus are not helping us! Perhaps we could find another way to motivate you by making your daughter suffer?"_

"_That will not be necessary! I will commit troops to subdue the uprisings!"_

"_If the media finds out…"_

"_They will _not_."_

"Now, how did those pesky uprisings stop?" Jacen asked innocently after he stopped the recording.

Thrackan's face went bright red as the entire media group swung around and focused on him.

"These are Jedi _lies_!" Thrackan said, putting his daughter to the ground while thinking frantically. "They are trying to divide Corellia. Look, they brought me back my daughter because they are _caving_ from our efforts against them! They even created fake recordings! The desperation is appalling! Arrest that Jedi!"

The guards pointed their blasters at Jacen, but he ignored them.

"Thrackan, your lies have come to an end," Jacen said grimly. "How many times have you tried to seize control of Corellia by making deals with whoever had the biggest gun? First the Empire, then the Human League. Next it was the Centerpoint Party, the Peace Brigade and the Yuuzhan Vong. And now you're in bed with the Mandalorians? Before it was bad enough when you sold your own soul to them, but now you're putting your daughter's life on the line? When will your corruption end?"

"You kidnapped my daughter, you scheming Jedi!" Thrackan shouted at him, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple. "It was probably you yourself who broke into her bedroom and stole her in the night!"

"Enough of this!" Aidel Saxan, Leader of the Opposition stepped forward. "Guards, arrest Sal-Solo."

"On what charge?" Thrackan demanded.

"Treason. Again. I think we've seen enough to justifiy your arrest."

Aidel walked up to Jacen and offered her hand while Thrackan sputtered under the guards' grip. Jacen shook it amid a media frenzy of reporters trying to both watch the guards arrest Thrackan and see what Saxan was doing. Jacen handed her the datapad with all the recordings on it, as well as a stack of datacards with copies for the media.

"On behalf of the Corellian Sector, we thank you for uncovering this plot," Aidel said. "Pending the analysis of your records, you may consider Corellia a supporter of the Jedi Federation."

"The Jedi will always be friends with Corellia," Jacen said. "Even if Corellia forgets."

"Aidel Saxan," She introduced herself. "I know who you are."

"Who doesn't?" Jacen asked with a lopsided grin and a trace of Solo arrogance. "How can we help?"

Saxan looked back at the reporters and turned to Jacen. "Perhaps aboard your ship?"

* * *

Inside the cockpit of the stolen Mandalorian ship, Jacen, Jaina, and Saxan sat in a triangle away from the prying eyes of the media.

"I have had a group of scientists secretly working on Centerpoint station ever since we started communications with Pellaeon several months ago," Saxan said. "We have been able to repair the damage to the gravity well generator…"

"I cannot condone the use of that weapon by any government," Jacen said with an air of finality.

"By request of the Jedi Council, the gravitec cannon has been disabled," Saxan continued. "I happen to agree with you, but I don't think the defensive capabilities of the gravity well generator can be ignored. To calm your fears, we have removed and relocated the focusing lens that allows it to fire the gravetic weapon properly. Without it, the scientists have assured me the station would destroy itself if someone tried to fire it."

"What does this have to do with us?" Jaina asked. "Sure it will protect Corellia from the Sith fleets, but it will hardly be a safe haven for us. It will be as inaccessible as any other area of the galaxy."

"It beats having another enemy," Saxan said with a small grin. "The Jedi Council has sent us a couple of operatives that we have been using to undermine Thrackan's government. We plan to use their communication abilities to coordinate with Jedi on the outside so, we can deactivate the gravity well long enough for fleets to come in or out without the Sith knowing. Our plan is to have Corellia help the Jedi as a secluded manufacturing facility that the Sith cannot touch."

Jacen and Jaina exchanged glances.

"I suppose it would work," Jaina agreed. "We'll just have to get clear so we can join the fleet. Who do you have here?"

"Daye and Tam Azur-Jamin," Saxan said. "Two very capable leaders. We will allow you to get clear before we activate it. Any communications after that will have to go through your Jedi. We should also sign a more formal treaty once I have resumed my place as Diktat.

"I'll go clear your ship for a flight out of the system. And it appears that I have an election campaign to launch."

Saxan stood up and activated the boarding ramp.

"May the Force be with you," She said with a smile and left the ship.

* * *

The _Lady Luck_ dropped out of hyperspace near Krant, a rich multi-coloured planet covered in forests and oceans that had only three cities to interrupt the otherwise-dominant flora. Trees of every colour mixed together in a mosaic that made Kyle think of one of Lando's more exotic shirts as the ship dove into the atmosphere, roughly in the direction of the city Le'Roche, the smaller Wookiee settlement located on an island. If Lando was right, an old Wookiee friend of his who owed a life debt to Page's Commandos lived there.

Per standard Wookiee construction, the village was virtually invisible among the trees until the ship dropped below the canopy line. The Wookiees had even gone so far to use a grove of trees with bright yellow and orange foliage to build their landing pad in to provide a highly visible approach zone. Due to the limited space on the island, the landing pad was barely big enough for the _Lady Luck_ to settle between the rows of trees.

"What?" Lando asked his passenger when he noticed Katarn was staring at him.

"Do you understand Wookiee?"

"Would I travel half way across the galaxy to meet a Wookiee if I didn't?"

"I never know with you." Katarn stood up and punched the hatch release on the cockpit door. "For all I know, you're just going into hiding again."

"I don't hide," Lando said.

"That's right," Katarn agreed. "You _do_ get captured a lot."

They exited the ship before Lando could retort, and several Wookiees greeted them with bowcasters drawn.

"We are looking for Kranochuck," Lando called out. "We come for information, nothing more."

The Wookiees growled something amongst themselves, and one soon disappeared into the woods. The remainder of the Wookiees continued to talk amongst themselves while keeping an eye on the newcomers to their island.

"What are they saying?" Katarn asked.

"I'm not sure," Lando said, straining to hear the conversation of barks, growls and grunts. "I don't recognize the dialect."

"You said you know Wookiee!" Katarn exclaimed.

"I know Lowie's dialect." Lando cringed. "These Wookiees must have come from another province. Not all Wookiees growl the same way."

"And I thought the Chiss bartender with a lisp was bad," Kyle grumbled. A disheveled human appeared from the forest behind a Wookiee, one of the Wookies that Kyle saw disappear into the woods a few moments earlier.

"Greetings," The human called out. "I'm Korbus. I presume you're having difficulty with the Wookiee tongue. They want to know who you are."

"Lando Calrissian and Kyle Katarn," Kyle called back. "I'm a Jedi Master." He held up his lightsaber, letting it hang by the belt hook from his thumb unthreateningly for good measure, and then replaced it on his belt.

At that, the Wookiees lowered their bowcasters, but Kyle noticed they remained alert. Korbus took that as a sign to approach the strangers.

"The Wookiees of this island speak their own tongue," Korbus explained. "Few humans who do not live here understand it. What brings you to our home?"

"Twenty years ago, a man named Page and his team of commandos freed a Wookiee named Kranochuck from slavery and earned a life debt," Lando said. At the mention of Page, the Wookiees seemed to perk up. "We were hoping you could help us locate him."

"Why would I do such a thing?"

"There is a war brewing," Kyle said. "Page has skills Jedi Master Luke Skywalker wants to use. Skills that can shorten the war and save lives. His people are among the best at what they do."

"Forgive me," Korbus said sheepishly. "But what makes you think Kranochuck knows where this Page is?"

"The Force led me here," Kyle said, hoping the feelings he felt since landing were right. "There are answers here, one way or the other."

Korbus took a moment to consider, and finally nodded. "Kranochuck is very old. You will have to meet him in his home if you wish to speak to him. I'll warn you: while he has great respect for the friends of Page, he has Quannot's Syndrome and can be quite…inhospitable at times."

"Quannot's Syndrome?" Kyle asked, following the other man along the path he had come from while Lando and the Wookiees filed in behind. "That's a rare human disease that degenerates the nervous system."

"Normally, it is," Korbus agreed. "But when introduced into Wookiee body chemistry, it attacks their nervous system in a different way than it does humans."

"Do we want to know?" Lando asked.

"It reduces their control over their emotions," Korbus said meaningfully. "More than one human has lost a limb to Kranochuck's moodswings."

"Wonderful," Kyle muttered.

* * *

Han stood behind the desk in the now-destroyed office that was once Luke's while examining some initial damage reports detailing the major systems and crew members that were out of commission. Every person who did not require medical attention was scouring the ship to assess in detail what was damaged, what was repairable, and what was lost. So far the entire port power distribution module, a design Han thought was lacking in robustness the second he saw it, was lost. With it, their ability to power the hyperdrive and the port sublight engine was also lost. The port sublight engine itself was torn to shreds, but thankfully the life support system operated off the starboard power distribution module. The starboard sublight engine still worked, but with the power generator seemingly unwilling to put out more than ten percent power Han had decided to devote all their power to essential systems. Hiding inside a nebula dense in iron meant shields and life support were the only two things on that list.

Lowbacca, Ben, Tyria, and Kell Tainer entered, each with datapads in hand and grim looks on their faces. Ben looked terrified, but stayed near Lowbacca like a shadow.

"Bad news first," Han said.

Each of the new entrants exchanged looks.

"We lost forty seven people out of ninety two," Kell started. "Ten are in critical condition, seventeen are injured and under medical care and the medbay is packed. That leaves eighteen to conduct repairs. The subspace radio is in working condition, but the control panel was destroyed. Even if we had the power to send a message out and could rig a way of communicating, we'd have to leave the nebula and we'd be pinpointed by the Mandos immediately."

[The only weapons working are the plasma launchers, and they're very upset,] Lowie said. [I doubt they will listen to us even if we did want to fire them. Chitter reports power output has dropped to eight percent. If power output drops below five percent, we will lose our shielding. If that happens, ninety percent of the ship, including the bridge and Tekli's medical bay, will be out of air. I have a crew working to make the medical bay and nearby rooms that have been converted for her use air tight. We have distributed emergency gear to everyone, but we have few reserves. Most were damaged in the attack, but we have fewer people now…]

"We are working on clearing the…the remains of our friends," Tyria choked out. "We are keeping them in the cargo bay."

Without warning, everyone floated off the ground and the ship made some loud creaking noises. Ben clenched tightly onto Lowie and everyone else grabbed the table, which was the closest thing bolted to the floor.

"I take it we lost grav plating," Han growled. "What about your X-wing, Tainer? Is it repairable?"

"The hyperdrive is destroyed, as well as two engines and the Ar-twelve unit," Kell said. "It can fly, but not very well. Part of the problem will be getting to it. It's buried under a pile of debris."

"The Jedi can move just about anything," Han said. "Lowie can help you get the ship out. That will be our priority, as well as sealing up what holes in the hull we can and working on the power generator. I'll work on the generator with Chitter.

"Tyria, you and Ben work on keeping everyone safe. Keep them fed, make sure their supplies aren't running low, and oversee the work crews sealing up the holes. I want anyone capable of holding a welding torch to start patching holes.

"Kell, I want you and Lowie to work on rigging the subspace radio into the X-wing and getting that bird flying. Artoo can help you out."

Kell and Lowie exchanged concerned glances that Han could not miss.

"Spit it out," he demanded.

"Artoo was lost in the attack," Kell said. "We haven't been able to find any trace of him."

"Great," Han muttered. "I lose Luke's droid and almost blow up his ship. Let's get to work before he kills me _three_ times over."

* * *

An insistent chirping noise brought consciousness to Luke Skywalker's otherwise peaceful night. He glanced at the wall chrono and bit back a generic curse aimed at anyone who thought it was a good idea to communicate this hour.

"Alright, I'm up!" Luke called out to the communication suite as it continued chirping and blinking at him. He stumbled his way over to it through the dark room and hit his toe on the short table in front of the suite. Biting back another curse, he hit the blinking receive button.

"Luke, there you are!" Wedge's too-cheery image said. "You look pretty tired. Are you getting enough rest?"

"Wedge, it's oh-three hundred hours," Luke said through gritted teeth. "I just found out three hours ago that four planetary systems rejoined the GA. You'd better be reporting that you got a few planets back or won the war."

"No, but I think I might've found something the Mandos want to use for that," Wedge replied. His face was replaced by an oval-shaped ship orbiting a planet. "We found this guy orbiting Da Soocha V on a recon mission. We've done some searching into it, and it looks about a week from completion – that is, furnishing the rooms. Everything is operational, and they don't know we know about it, so it is largely undefended."

"You woke me up for a new shipyard location?" Luke asked in disbelief and stifled a yawn. "I know you were excited to get a promotion, but couldn't this have waited until morning?"

"No," Wedge said, and the very familiar outline of another ship appeared beside the oval. It was a triangle about half the length and a sixth of the total volume of the oval that sunk a feeling of dread into Luke's stomach. "I woke you up because this thing makes your daddy's old command ship look like a little toy."

"Are these dimensions accurate?" Luke demanded, now wide awake.

"We confirmed it on two separate espionage missions," Wedge replied. "I got one of our people into the facility as a furniture installer, and he confirmed the readiness. This thing is operational."

"Wedge, I can't authorize a mission against it," Luke said. "I realize the threat it poses, but we can_not_ destroy it. It would be political suicide."

"Luke, we won't get another chance to blow this thing up," Wedge argued. "They're leaving it in the open because they know, even if we do discover it, we won't attack it for political reasons, but we can't afford not to take this opportunity! Our intel shows this thing has thirty _thousand_ torpedo banks and just as many _double_ turbolasers. That's almost my entire fleet put together!"

"We cannot destroy that ship," Luke said as clearly as he possibly could. "Wedge, I am ordering you not to attack it. Do not defy me on this."

"Understood, _sir_."

The transmission cut from Wedge's side, leaving the image of the massive oval ship burned against Luke's eyes for a moment against the black display.

_Why do I get the feeling that he's going to steal it?_ Luke asked himself with a sigh.

* * *

Wedge terminated the connection with Luke and turned to the hologram on his left.

"Told you," Wedge said smugly.

"You are a master of mind and words," Tycho replied sarcastically. "Plan A?"

"Plan A," Wedge confirmed with a smile. "As I said, we must listen to our great leader and not destroy the ship."

A bleeping sound distracted Tycho on his end, and Wedge could not hear what was being said. After a moment, Tycho turned back to him with a worried expression Wedge rarely saw on his friend's face.

"The Wraiths just arrived, without Han," Tycho explained. "I'll be in touch."

* * *

Face Loran hang-dropped to the hanger bay deck of General Tycho Celchu's command ship _Alderaanian Spires_ without waiting for a ladder to be brought to his X-wing. Waiting for him on the bustling hanger bay about four metres from his ship was General Celchu himself, looking like he had swallowed a raw gort egg.

"Commander Loran, where is _Yoda_?" General Celchu demanded. "You were supposed to return together, but you only came back with five X-wings."

"Our cover was blown so Han blew the shipyards," Face said. "We all jumped out, but they didn't arrive at the rendez-vous. We waited as long as we could before we left for the nearest fleet. Our life support and fuel was getting low, otherwise we would've stayed longer. Our records show that they did jump, but there was possible damage to their hyperdrive."

"Do you have their jump vector?" Tycho asked.

Face handed him a data card. "We didn't have any maps to analyse where they could've gone, but we did determine a vector."

"I'll take what we can get," Tycho said. "Have your people get some rest. We'll be using your team for search and recovery, but I need to pick your brain before you go."


	11. 8 Days

**Apologies if you got two messages - I forgot to format :)**

* * *

**8 Days...**_  
_

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"In no small part to the extensive campaigning yesterday on the part of Mandalorian senator Marvis Cree, further anti-Jedi legislation has been passed by the senate. I can now announce that the new Galactic Alliance law now decrees helping, joining, or otherwise associating with the Jedi is outlawed. This is another tactic to destabilize the relations the Jedi might have with sympathetic factions still within the Galactic Alliance to maintain political stability in these difficult times.

"On Corellia, Thracken Sal-Solo was arrested amid a media frenzy and is facing trials for treason after evidence of conspiring with the Mandalorians to rig his election came to light, brought forth by none other than his cousins and wanted Jedi Knights, Jacen and Jaina Solo. Evidence also suggests that Sal-Solo ordered the slaughter of thousands of protestors on Talus and Tralus, for which he could be facing the death sentence.

"Government officials have refused to comment on the Sal-Solo situation, but the bounty on Jacen Solo has been raised to one hundred million credits.

"And this just in: Queen Mother Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium has announced her engagement to Augber Mecve, and their upcoming bid to rejoin the Galactic Alliance!"

* * *

Soora turned off the morning newscast with a curse. He activated his secure communication system and started issuing orders back to Darth Krak.

"Someone kill Thracken Sal-Solo," was the first line he wrote.

"And set me up a meeting with this Tenel Ka," He continued to write. "She could be a powerful tool to use against the Jedi."

* * *

Jaina Solo woke in a start and looked around her frantically, trying to figure out where she was. Then it hit her – Corellia. Aidel Saxan had put the Jedi guests up for the night in a luxurious hotel not far from the spaceport the _Solo Quest_ was docked as she insisted the twins get rest from their latest mission. They had donated the Mandalorian ship to Saxan's scientists as a gesture of good faith from the Jedi to expose the Corellians to the new technology, and were scheduled to leave in the morning on the _Solo Quest._

Jaina's sudden waking caught her by surprise, and she closed her eyes and squeezed the heels of her hands into them for a moment to try remembering what she saw.

_Zekk and Saba are in danger!_ Jaina realized.

She jumped out of bed and within five minutes had dressed and gathered her belongings into a backpack. She sent a message to Jacen who, unsurprisingly, was on the _Solo Quest_ and not in the room that had been offered to him.

She paused only to wake up Nelani and tell her to find Eriana in the nearby med centre before sprinting the entire five minute run to the docking bay. When she arrived, she found Jacen inspecting the port engines.

"Oh, good, you felt it too!" Jaina said, realizing he was doing a pre-flight inspection.

"Yes, I'm going to help her," Jacen said. Apparently satisfied, he closed the hatch and walked up the boarding ramp.

"Her?" Jaina asked. "What about Zekk?"

"Zekk?" Jacen turned around. "What's wrong with Zekk? I'm going to Tenel Ka."

"Tenel Ka? Jacen, I just had a vision!" Jaina said. "Zekk and Saba are in danger. We have to help them!"

Jacen gave her a funny look and pulled a bundle of flimsy from his back pocket. He tossed it at his sister and knelt down to inspect the ramp hydraulics while she read it. She caught the flimsy easily and opened it to see an image of Tenel Ka standing beside a large, burly man with the title Hapan Queen Mother Pledges to Join Galactic Alliance and Announces Engagement overtop the picture.

"Something is wrong with Tenel Ka," Jacen said, standing up from an apparently satisfactory inspection of the hydraulics. "There is no way she would pull out of the Jedi Order, and there's no way she would marry that rancor. I'm going to fix it."

"Jacen, I-I know this is a shock to you," Jaina said, herself quite shocked by the news. "But Tenel Ka is a grown woman, and she has her people to consider. She could be trying to protect them. She can make her own choices. Zekk and Saba need us _now_. We're the closest to them, and Uncle Luke can send someone else to Hapes. This isn't the time to be jealous!"

"Jaina," Jacen said. "She picked me. Two months ago, she asked _me_ to marry her. Look what she's wearing – the necklace I made for her out of Nicta's shells back on Yavin IV. Why would she wear that with this guy on her arm? It's a message only I would understand. I'm going to her. Zekk and Saba can take care of themselves as well as anyone we know. Are you coming with me, or not?"

Jaina looked at her brother hard and took a step back.

"Take care of Tenel Ka, Jacen," She responded. She turned and ran out of the hanger, leaving Jacen wondering if he had made the right decision as the ascending ramp eclipsed his sister.

* * *

While Leia and Mara spent the days repairing the _Jade Shadow_ with several Chiss technicians, Danni grew to enjoy the calm, comforting presence of Drathan since her injury made her more of a hindrance than a help in the repair effort. To her surprise, Drathan was not only well-versed in classic human literature, he also had a collection of well worn books dating back hundreds of years. Drathan had explained that when a Chiss is exiled, one luxury item was granted to them, save a space craft. Many took a prized blaster or weapon, a cooking system, or even pets.

"A good book is more dangerous than a weapon," Drathan had said with a grim smile when he showed Danni his collection of books. As he handed her a book to read, he said: "Knowledge is the fabric of power, not blasters or ships."

Something about those words nagged at Danni. She spent the morning trying to help the Chiss women prepare food, something she could barely do if she had both hands free, running those words over inside her head. After the women had decided her skills at cooking rivaled her skills at repairing ships one-handed, she was gently asked to take the day off and relax, at least, as gently as the cold-mannered Chiss were able. Danni resolved to take a walk along the nearby river, letting the soothing sounds of the water running along its path ease her troubled mind. Little did she know that her path soon crossed with Drathan's.

"Danni Quee," Drathan's deep, mellow voice called to her. "It is a pleasure to see you here."

"Likewise," Danni said, trying to hide her surprise with a smile. "Thanks again for the book you lent me. I rather enjoyed it."

"Have you finished it already?"

"I'm a quick study," Danni said with broad grin. "I've been thinking about what you said when you handed it to me."

"And?"

"The book was interesting," Danni started, struggling to put her thoughts into words. "It told the tale of a Corellian businessman who tricked a Coruscanti into committing a crime, and him getting away with it."

"I do remember the story well," Drathan said with a chuckle. "Your point?"

"Well, what confuses me most is your words," Danni said. "I don't see how a story about a couple humans would be of great interest to you, except that they're in a paper-bound book."

Drathan smiled and sat on a boulder that allowed him to overlook the stream and keep an eye on Danni.

"Did you care to look at who had written the book?"

"No..."

"It was a Corellian," Drathan said. "What does that tell you?"

"That...Corellians like stories where they win?"

"Exactly!" Drathan exclaimed. "But not just winning..."

"...They like to win by being tricky," Danni finished, her eyes growing with comprehension.

"Not even Mitth'raw'nuruodo caught on so quickly," Drathan chuckeld, pushing off his rock and continuing his walk.

"You taught Thrawn?" Danni asked after a second of running the long name through her head.

Drathan stopped and hung his head.

"That was two lifetimes ago," Drathan said sadly. "One always hopes their student uses their teachings the way they were intended, but Mitth'raw'nuruodo enjoyed the hunt too much. He enjoyed outsmarting his opponents, using the knowledge I had given him to predict their tactics and beating them. He grew to love the challenge of battle. In succeeding beyond my wildest dreams, he became a nightmare for the Chiss people."

"I'm sorry," Danni said, completely at a loss of words as the older man walked away.

* * *

Luke's descent from the Star Destroyer _Nemesis_ to the capital of Thyferra was as uneventful as a summer night on Tattooine. The _Falcon_ performed flawlessly, for once, gracefully coming to a landing under the control of the seasoned pilot and Jedi Master on the landing pad reserved for diplomatic guests. Until he saw the honour guard and diplomats awaiting him outside the ship he never quite understood why his brother-in-law insisted on taking the war-torn _Falcon_ on diplomatic missions.

_It was his way of fighting back,_ Luke thought to himself as he pressed the button to lower the ramp and braced himself against the pending diplomatic onslaught. _Smart man._

Whoever Luke had expected to meet waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp, it was not Bror Jace, former Rogue Squadron member and prominent member of the Zaltin Bacta Corporation.

"Rogue Four to Rogue Lead," Jace said with a smile.

"It's been a long time since anyone called me that." Luke returned Jace's grin with a handshake to go along with it.

"Welcome to Thyferra," Jace said, keeping the Jedi Master away from the media as long as possible. "I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay. If you need anything at all, feel free to contact me."

"Of course," Luke said, using the Force to prevent his voice from traveling too far. "I understand parts of your government believe the Jedi are too weak to lead this coalition. I'd like to meet with them to try smoothing things over and try to restore their faith in us."

Jace glanced back at the media before speaking.

"Meet with the crowd and go through the diplomatic thing first," he said quickly. "We'll talk strategy after tonight's reception."

* * *

Han accepted a datapad from someone and sighed deeply. On the intake of air, he wished he hadn't. For a full day he had been wearing the same pressure suit while conducting repairs on the damaged power generator with the Omwati Jedi named Chitter. To conserve power, several Imperial technicians were modifying the internal shields to operate in a smaller section of the ship – namely the med bay and the bridge. Rather than risk decompression, Han ordered everyone doing essential work in unprotected areas to wear space suits. If working on a damaged power generator was not tedious enough with almost fifty lives depending on it, doing it in a bulky space suit was even more frustrating. At least the lack of air prevented the groaning sounds of the ship twisting from various gravitec strains from reaching Han's ears. Something about those sounds reminded him of a near-dead animal moaning in pain.

He quickly read over the datapad and tossed it back to the person. In the weightlessness of space, it floated easily.

"Tell Tekli if she wants power so badly, she can stop bugging me for it and start running on a wheel," Han growled in response to the datapad. "And tell Tyria to hurry up with those modifications! They should've been done six hours ago!"

"Yes, Uncle Han!" The someone said quite fearfully, and scooted off. Han shook his head. It was bad enough Ben was stuck in this situation, but worse with being yelled at by his uncle for something that was not his fault.

"Ben!" Han called to his nephew, and Ben turned around. "Keep up the good work."

Ben smiled weakly and nodded before retreating out the door.

"Han, Kell here," A voice chirped in Han's ear.

"Go ahead."

"Lowie and I dug the X-wing out. It looks like it can fly, but that hyperdrive is definitely destroyed."

"How are the fuel reserves?"

"Eighty percent," Kell responded. "That gives us at least two hours at combat speeds, assuming there are no leaks."

"Take it out and scout outside the nebula," Han ordered. "And get Lowie working on extracting the subspace transceiver. I want it mounted on that X-wing in an hour."

"Understood," Kell responded. "But it still won't do us any good without that Artoo unit. Any luck finding him?"

"None yet," Han said. "Ben's looking for it when he can but…"

A shower of sparks and the flickering of lights caught Han's eye. Chitter jumped back away from the stream of sparks emanating from the power core, clutching one wrist with the other hand. Without warning, all the lights shut down and panicked calls blasted through Han's ear comlink.

"Force fields down…"  
"…lost power in…"

"…we're losing him!"

"…was that?"

Han slapped the control panel on his wrist, shutting the comlink down. He pushed off towards the main power generator console, and found it dead. Without even a trickle of power, the battery backups would not engage. With a few select Corellian phrases cursing Imperial technology, Han pushed himself off the console towards the manual shunt. He reached the location of the control and found a sheet of metal that had fallen from above during the battle obscuring his path. He planted his feet against the deck plating and heaved the large sheet of metal into the gravity-less space above his head and shoved it to the side. What he found beneath made him jump.

"Artoo, you bucket of bolts!" Han shouted in surprise, despite the lack of air for Artoo's auditory sensors to pick up his voice. He floated to the console and yanked the handle for the manual shunt, activating the battery backup systems.

Several lights flickered on around him, and Han reactivated his comlink.

"Emergency power activated," Han said, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. "Someone give me a status update!"

"That was us," Kell said guiltily. "We tried opening the bay door and it caused a short. We got it open Jedi style."

"Tekli here." A squeaky voice came to Han's ear. "We lost two of the Imperial crew members when the equipment went down, but we didn't lose any air. We're recovering but we're shaken up."

"We lost oxygen on the bridge, but everyone's fine," Tyria said. "I think a few of us need to clean our suits though."

"U-uncle H-Han?" Han heard as he knelt down to inspect Artoo. His dome and one leg was dented, but otherwise the droid seemed operational. "I…I think I'm lost."

[Where are you Ben?] Lowie asked.

"I'm outside the ship!" Ben cried.

"Outside the ship?" Han demanded. _Can this mission get any worse? _"How did you get out there! Kell, get your ass out there _now_! Ben, how far from the ship are you?"

"A-abou…ty mete...oating away…t see…ip anymo…Help m…!"

Helplessness crept into Han as he saw Chitter floating past, still clutching his burned hand and Han pushed away from Artoo to help out the Jedi.

"Lowie, get Ben back here if it's the last thing you do!"

* * *

Jaina Solo deactivated the holographic communication system with a curse and scratched another name off her list. Apparently decent ships capable of light speed for a good price had been in high demand for months on Corellia. The high demand combined with a limited supply was making Jaina's attempts to find a decent ship next to impossible. Every channel she pursued, from contacting Aidel Saxan personally to cold-calling every used starship dealer in Coronet, came up dry. It made her wish she had not handed the Mandalorian ship over to the Corellian scientists.

She had sent Eriana and Nelani to a neighbouring city to pursue an old contact her dad had told her about years ago who owned a used ship lot. Jaina had hoped that her name and status as a Jedi Master would have some influence among the many shipyards of Coronet, but her hopes were quickly dwindling to sheer frustration.

_Why did you have to leave?_ Jaina thought desperately at her brother through their twin bond, who was conveniently meditating and had the empathic equivalent of a 'Do Not Disturb' sign hovering over his head. His ship would have been so convenient in the meantime, making the acquisition of another ship so much less pressing.

Jaina sighed and reactivated the comm system when a familiar sound came from the balcony outside her hotel room. She took her lightsaber in hand and carefully approached the sliding glass doors to see why a ship would be illegally hovering on repulsorlifts outside her balcony.

The boarding ramp lowered and Nelani appeared at the top of the ramp.

"C'mon Jaina!" She shouted over the noise. "We have to go _now_!"

Not wanting to complain, she grabbed their pre-packed duffels sitting on her bed and leapt onto the boarding ramp easily. As soon as the ramp started closing, the ship streaked into the sky at full speed.

"What happened?" Jaina asked, using the Force to stay upright as the ship accelerated. "Where did you get this ship?"

"Coordinates first," Eriana replied.

"Garos IV. Mid-rim off the Daragon Trail."

"Done," Eriana said. She disappeared into the ship and Nelani helped Jaina transport their belongings to their berths. The ship shook several times as blaster bolts impacted the shields, and the Jedi finally strapped themselves down in the main passenger area. Several moments later, the ship jumped to hyperspace, bringing about sighs of relief.

"What was that all about?" Jaina demanded when Eriana returned.

"Oh, we kinda broke a few laws involving domestic violence while hiring the captain of this ship," Eriana said. "That guy you said your dad knew tried shooting at us and he had several old battle droids and anti-infantry turrets, so we needed to escape. We found a spaceport bar nearby and the captain of this ship. Luckily, he was willing to bail us out as the authorities came after us. Well, for a price that I hope we can pay."

"Sounds like a nice guy," Jaina said with a mix of relief and suspicion. "When do I get to meet him?"

A barely-recognizable man appeared, his most dominant facial feature being a nasty scar splitting the left side of his face from the bridge of his nose to the middle of his jaw. The blond man walked across the passenger area and flopped into the engineering station chair with a wide grin. There was something about the grin that struck Jaina as familiar, but that was not how she identified him.

"Those CorSec jawas won't be giving us much more trouble," the pilot said. He finally noticed Jaina's stunned face. "What?"

"_Raynar?_"

* * *

Han floated down the damaged corridor away from the infirmary with Artoo quite literally in tow with a safety cable. Several odd objects were floating between Han and his destination, from wall panels to furniture that had escaped a dormitory. After bringing Chitter to the oxygenated space where his third degree burns could be cared for, Han found himself with other responsibilities craving his attention. He was on his way to the bridge when an urgent communication from Lowie changed his direction to the cargo bay the Wraith X-wings had been using as a makeshift hanger bay. He opened the door and a pink nebula cloud billowed into the hallway forcing Han to quickly enter the cargo bay and shut the door behind him. Once he entered the room filled with nebula, he set out looking for Lowbacca, but the Wookiee found him first. The blood from Han's face drained to his knees at the sight of the Wookiee carrying the limp form of a child-sized space suit as he appeared from the thick clouds.

"No, Lowie…"

[He's fine,] Lowie growled. [He lost his consciousness from the fear of the unknown. Kell located him and together we brought him in. Kell is proceeding to scout outside the nebula.]

"How did he get out there?" Han asked with relief. He accepted his unconscious nephew from the Wookiee.

[There are several holes in the outer hull that were protected by the energy fields to keep air inside,] Lowie explained. [If he was near one when the power generator shut down, the rush of air would have swept him away.]

"At least that won't be an issue now," Han said sarcastically. He unclipped the tether holding Artoo to his belt and handed it to the Wookiee. "I found something you lost. Fix him up and get working on that subspace…"

"…alling Han, Kell calling Han." A scratchy voice came to Han's commlink.

"Go ahead," Han called back.

"A Mando fleet is in the area," the Wraith responded. "They're sending fighters into the nebula to look for us. Repeat: We're _screwed_."

* * *

The Chief of State looked very distraught as he stared out his expansive window beneath the senate chamber at the passing hovercars when Soora arrived.

"Marvis, I'm glad you could make it on such short notice," Cal said. "Sit; I need to run some thoughts past you."

"Anything, your excellency."

"The actions of the Jedi do not make sense," Cal said with a knitted brow. "I knew Skywalker. He wouldn't have done this if he didn't have to, but there is so much evidence against him. Do you think, maybe, we made a mistake assessing the facts?"

"Chief Omas," Marvis said with his deep voice, using the Force to make himself seem more trustworthy. "The Mandalorians are often thought to be aggressive, militant people, but that is not the reality. We are a passionate people, and our passion is sometimes misunderstood. We, too, abhor what war does to the innocent families of our worlds."

He could sense Cal fighting his mind control, so he pushed harder.

"Why would the Jedi attack our ships unprovoked?" He continued. "And destroy our fleet on training manoeuvres near Giju? And I just received a report that our shipyard at Mandalore was destroyed by a Jedi taskforce. These are not the actions of innocent people!"

"But this situation with Sal-Solo on Corellia…" Cal said, shaking his head. Soora was beginning to wonder if he had detected the mind control.

"…Was entirely a Jedi ploy," Soora said smoothly, pushing a bit deeper into Cal's mind. "The Jedi _obviously_ forged those recordings."

"Yes, they obviously forged those recordings…"

"And destroyed our shipyards unprovoked."

"And they destroyed shipyards…"

"You see, Chief Omas," Soora said with a smile. "The facts are right in front of you. These Jedi terrorists _must_ be stopped."

"Of course." Cal smiled up at Soora. "You are right. They _must_ be stopped."

* * *

Kranochuck's tall, lanky form sat slouched over in a tall chair by a cooling fire pit close to the centre of the Wookiee village. The long thin red leaves on the outside of the tree reached low, almost brushing the greying Wookiee's head as they swayed softly in the afternoon breeze. After the hike from the landing pad, Kyle was finding himself hungry. When he saw the Wookiee by the fire pit, he half-hoped a soup or animal would be cooking, but the dying embers made his stomach growl.

"Kranochuck, you have visitors!" Korbus announced as they approached. "A Jedi Master and his friend."

Lando looked mildly irritated at the mention of being "the friend," but was polite enough to hold his tongue. Kranochuck seemed to wake up at the mention of a Jedi, and looked over the two strangers carefully.

"Master Kranochuck, I am Jedi Master Kyle Katarn," Kyle introduced himself. "I am an old friend of Judder Page's, and I need his help."

Kranochuck growled something, and Korbus translated.

"He said Page spoke your name before, but he cannot help you find your friend."

"I understand you owe him a life debt." Kyle pressed. "And I know he considers you a good friend…"

Kranochuck roared and jumped out of his chair. He charged toward the offending Jedi, and Kyle had to leap backwards high into a tree to avoid the enraged Wookiee, clinging to a large branch. Ignoring Lando, Kranochuck leapt at the tree and quickly climbed after the Jedi who was hanging from one of the branches. Kyle swung his legs to gather momentum and pulled himself up so his waist and gathered his feet under him as the Wookiee reached the branch he was on. He used the Force to leap over to another tree's branch, and sprung to another tree further away. Kranochuck roared in annoyance, and dropped to the ground.

"Stop, Krannie, stop!" A voice called out from behind Lando. They turned to see Page slinging a blaster rifle over shoulder and running over to the old Wookiee. "Kyle's an old friend of mine!"

"Page!" Kyle called, dropping from his tree, still cautious about the Wookiee. Korbus approached Kranochuck now that Page had calmed him down, and led the older Wookiee away from the visitors to their island.

"Thanks, looks like I owe you another one," Kyle said, shaking hands with the aging commando. Lando approached did likewise.

"It's great to see you again, Kyle, but you can get right back into your ship and tell Skywalker he's on his own," Page said, obviously having listened to their earlier conversation. "I promised the Wookiees I would help protect them should anything happen. Some of us have been fighting in wars for almost fifty years. After the Vong war, it's time we retired and let the young ones fight their battles. Not all of us have the Force to keep us young."

"Tell me about it," Lando grumbled.

"Can you do anything to help?" Kyle asked, ignoring Lando.

"Well, if Skywalker wants my help, he can send troops here," Page said after a moment's consideration. "I won't leave, but I'd be willing to train a few kids for him in guerrilla and espionage tactics."

Kyle's grin was matched by Page's own and he offered a hand to Page.

"Those kids won't know what hit them."

"You can bet on that," Page said, shaking Kyle's hand.

"We're also looking for Drayson and Col Serra," Lando interrupted, feeling left out of the dialogue between the old squad mates. "Any idea where we can find them?"

"Drayson's on Chandrilla," Page said. "But don't expect a warm welcome. Chandrilla is pro-GA right now, so he has to keep his head down. And he's older than me, if you forgot. I don't know much more about him. Col Serra, on the other hand, is going to be really hard to find. The Vong destroyed his command ship in the last months of the war with him on it. I just found out a couple weeks ago myself."

"No lost love there, eh?" Katarn said, noticing the bitterness in Page's voice as he spoke about Serra.

"I'd speak my mind," Page said. "But the Wookiees have a thing about speaking ill of the dead. Sorry I can't help you more than that, but..."

"Yeah, I know the whole story about getting old," Kyle said. "Thanks Page, at least now I can go back to Skywalker and tell him to let me go back to teaching."

* * *

"Raynar?" The scarred, blond haired captain asked. "What kind of nerf-herder's name is that? I'm Captain Thrall. Reg Thrall."

"Don't you even dare try that poodoo with me," Jaina commanded. She crossed the passenger area and pulled the shocked captain out of his chair and hugged him tightly. She finally released him from the hug, but still held onto his sleeves at the biceps, shaking him slightly as she spoke. "Where in the galaxy have you been? How did you escape the Nightsisters?"

"Look, sweetheart, I have no idea who you are," Reg uncomfortably pushed Jaina away from himself and moved around the engineer chair to keep it between them. Her jaw dropped as she noticed one of his hands falling to the blaster strapped at his hip. "But where I come from, a gal doesn't latch herself onto a guy without an invitation. I ain't givin' you one, so keep your paws to yourself!"

Completely stunned by his reaction, Jaina did not notice the confused looks exchanged between her companions.

"Raynar, you don't remember me?" Jaina asked softly, her face twisting with the painful emotions that augmented her existing stress and aggravation.

"Obviously not! And stop calling me that! My name is Reg."

"We went to the Jedi Academy together on Yavin IV. You were a pompous little brat, but when we started looking for your dad, you changed. The last…"

"I never knew my parents, and I don't know any Jedi," Reg sneered. "If this is your funny way of getting out of payment, pretending you're some old girlfriend, I'll toss you out the airlock right now!"

Jaina took her lightsaber from her belt and held it out to him, balancing it lengthwise across her palm. At first he recoiled away, not sure what she was doing.

"What's that?"

"My lightsaber," Jaina said. "Take it. You've held it before. Do you recognize it?"

"Of course not!" Fear permeated his voice. "Get that thing away from me!"

Jaina sighed and returned the hilt to her belt.

"Tell me about your past," she requested. "What do you remember? Because if you can convince me you're not Raynar, I'll give up on you. But right now, I can sense you're the Jedi I remember beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Jaina returned to her seat across the cabin and stared at the man unexpectedly, ignoring Eriana and Nelani's questioning glares. Finally feeling unthreatened, Reg tentatively took his seat again and kept his skeptical gaze at Jaina – and his hand on his blaster.

"Me a Jedi?" Reg asked incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief. "Wow…okay. Jedi. Yeah. Next thing you're gonna tell me, you really are interested in my past."

"Believe me, I am interested." Jaina leaned forward, eyes pleading for a measure of calm amid the hurricane her life had become.

"I'm just some kid who made it scamming rides and creds from one port to another. One day I overheard some guy asking how to make a Dagobian swamprat. Before I knew what I was saying, I called out to mix juppie juice with Corellian brandy, codweed and the light it on fire. He took a liking to me, made me a crew member, and the rest is history."

Eriana choked down a snorted laugh. "Lighting codweed on fire?" Tears streamed down her face that she wiped away with her hand. "It's a wonder you didn't make the whole place explode!"

Between Nelani's hiccups and Eriana's wild laughing, Jaina couldn't get a question in edgewise. Thrall egged them on with a few other wild stories clearly designed to distract her from his _real_ past, giving Jaina smart smirks with each, knowing full well how frustrated she was becoming.

_I'll prove it, _Captain, Jaina thought. _Just you wait_.


	12. 7 Days

**My apologies for the long delay between chapters. My beta pulled out on me because she has had too many personal issues to attend to, and I have fortunately been able to pick up a new beta. I hope to resume weekly postings.**

**While everything is written already, I'm willing to add if there is an interest for it - I'd like your opinions on who I should knock off, and I'll take suggestions on how to do it. So far I've heard Octa should go...but I'll leave that up to you guys. In your review, let me know who you want killed off. There are a few that I can't do because of some other stuff I have planned for them, but...we'll see :)**

**Time for some mayhem...**

* * *

**7 Days…**

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"Our Mandalorian allies have reported the destruction of their largest shipyard, located over their home planet of Mandalore. Initial reports indicate a defensive lightfight had occurred shortly before the explosion, but there have been no confirmed details on who is responsible for the explosion. Naturally, the Jedi are suspected, and, if correct, this may be the start to a new wave of offensive Jedi action."

* * *

The _Solo Quest_ had arrived at the north landing pad of Fountain Palace on Hapes for barely a half minute before the boarding ramp lowered long enough for Jacen to exit before it retracted again. Using the ship's auto-cool down feature after the taxing journey from Coreallia was hardly the intended use for the system, but Jacen's concerns were elsewhere. He hardly made it a hundred meters when an entourage of guards and a tall pompous-looking man with an overbuilt confidence to match his muscles appeared.

"Jedi Solo," The man called as his guards surrounded Jacen in a makeshift honour guard. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I'm here to see Tenel Ka," Jacen said without preamble. He recognized the man from the article – Augber Mecve, a vocal militant-minded representative from one of the Hapes planets. If Jacen remembered correctly, this man's mother ran the planet, and was one of Tenel Ka's political rivals who had made several attempts at the throne. "I trust you won't interfere."

"The queen no longer recognizes the Jedi," Augber said acidly. "I trust you understand you have no jurisdiction here."

"This is a personal call," Jacen said, biting down his impatience, but using it to stave off his fatigue. "I am an old friend of the queen mother's and she will be interested in seeing me."

"Ah," Augber said, and snapped his fingers. An aide came to his side immediately. "Since you are an old friend, you know the queen is a very busy person. Robil here will bring you to a room until she is ready to see you."

Jacen walked past the larger man without another word and followed the aide to a room both farther from the queen's chambers and less elaborately decorated than any Jacen had ever stayed in while on Hapes.

After the first hour of waiting and pacing, Jacen finally decided that he was being stalled and was not likely to meet Tenel Ka any time soon. In an attempt to stave off his impatience, he sat down cross-legged to meditate.

He reached into the Force and sought out the connection he long ago forged with his friend and reached towards her. He touched her mind, but the connection felt like looking for a starfighter in a magnesium-nickel nebula.

_Tenel Ka! Hear me!_

Moments passed in silence.

_Jacen?_ Tenel Ka's response was frail. Weak. A shadow of her former self.

Anger sprouted in Jacen's heart.

_I'm coming for you,_ Jacen sent. His ears perked up at a sound coming from the window. He sprung off the ground and reached out with the Force, snagging two women by their necks. He wretched them into the room and slammed them against the wall with enough force to crack the walls.

"_Assassins_?" Jacen demanded in an unnaturally cold voice. "Who sent you?"

Both women appeared unwilling to tell him, so he drove his consciousness into theirs. A moment later he had the answers he sought. And more. The two assassins fell unconscious to the ground and Jacen drew his rage into himself, channeling it to draw upon the Force. The power of the Force entwined with his determination and resolve, refocusing him into the weapon he had become on Yuuzhan'tar a lifetime ago.

He had lost too many friends already.

He was _not_ going to lose Tenel Ka.

* * *

Captain Thrall seemed to spend as much time performing preventative maintenance on his ship as Jaina's father did on the _Falcon_. While Jaina followed Raynar around and offered her assistance in the repairs – about the only thing she thought she could do that would make her feel like she was doing _something_ to get to Garos IV faster – she could not help but think the _Falcon_ was almost luxurious in comparison to this ship.

For about an hour, Jaina followed him around, offering any assistance possible.

She knew that despite all of his denials, this man had to be Raynar. However, there was a lingering doubt that nagged at Jaina. The walls he had built upon himself over the years kept her at a distance to the point she could not get a clear reading on him, despite trusting her gut that it was him.

Once, when she attempted a Force probe, he slammed her against a bulkhead as he pushed his way back into the cockpit. "Just leave me alone, will ya?" he groused, rubbing his head.

Jaina sensed that she had struck a nerve of some sort, as only a Force-sensitive could have reacted like that. With even greater determination, she persisted in begging her old friend to help with his repair work, insisting she could even coax more speed out of the engines.

At first he thought it was her way of paying for the journey. Then he suspected she was just crazy and obsessed with him. From that point on, his mind was practically closed to her. While Jaina chased "Raynar" around the ship, Eriana and Nelani engaged in training exercises, snickering from time to time as Jaina got yelled at for interfering with anything Captain Thrall could think up.

"Well, how do you _know_ I'm wrong?" Jaina asked with a thoroughly-irritated tone of voice as Reg worked on the life support power couplings.

"Just shut your mouth! You haven't stopped yapping since you came onboard."

"I will as soon as you tell me about your past… the truth, this time. Tell me you don't remember my idiot brother and his crystal snakes."

"You want to hear about my past?" Reg asked, pulling his blaster and pointing it at her nose. "_You'll_ be part of my past if you don't shut up and go think at things like your friends."

"The Raynar I know wouldn't have shot me either," Jaina said smartly. "If you were this tough guy you're pretending to be, you'd have shot me by now."

"Passengers don't tend to pay when they're dead," Reg reminded her, shoving his blaster back in the holster and staring at the power couplings. "But if you want to help, get me the space tape and hydrospanner in that top drawer."

"This one?" Jaina asked, pointing to a cabinet loosely affixed to the bulkhead.

"Do you see another top drawer anywhere?"

Jaina pulled the drawer open and screamed in surprise. A moment later Eriana and Nelani appeared at the door to the life support room, lightsabers in hand.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Reg said, snatching the hydrospanner from the drawer and slamming it shut. "Stay out of there."

Jaina re-opened the drawer, and even had to use the Force to prevent Reg from interfering. From within, she extracted what looked like a thin silver oval with a face on it.

"That's mine!" Reg protested against Jaina's telekinesis. "Put that back!"

"Do you know what this is?"

"Yeah, a broken droid I've had for as long as I can remember," He sneered. "I can't get the damned thing to work."

Jaina examined the droid carefully for a moment before speaking.

"It looks like it has power…"

"Probably because I charged it when I tried fixing it," Reg mocked her. "Step one for all repair: Charge the power cell."

A flick of Jaina's mind caused the photoreceptors to flare to life, flickering in tune with various jumbled words and varying-pitched noises before it finally died.

"How'd you do that?" Reg asked in awe, not moving despite the fact that Jaina had stopped holding him back.

"This droid is Em-Teedee," Jaina said softly, tears welling at her eyes as she gently stroking the little oval she thought she would never see again. "Chewie made him for Lowie, and Lowie moved his switch inside so only a Jedi could activate or deactivate him."

She looked Reg in the eye and tried to blink away her tears.

"Em-Teedee was lost with the ship that you, Raynar, were lost on almost eight years ago."

* * *

Inside the cockpit of the almost-repaired _Jade Shadow_, Danni and Leia were both trying to resist the urge yell at each other so the Chiss outside could not hear them. Mara had resorted to working out some bugs in the navicomputer, trying to not look like she wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Leia, please, just talk to him," Danni pleaded. "He's brilliant. He trained Thrawn and he knows how to run a government. Master Skywalker doesn't want to do it, Pellaeon doesn't want to do it, and you sure don't!"

"He's happy here," Leia argued. "There's no way we could convince him to come back. In his mind he is shamed from the Chiss people. It's a huge stigma to get over and no leader is fit to lead if they doubt themselves!"

"He doesn't doubt himself," Danni said. "He's calm, collected, and he knows what he's doing. Everyone here adores him and looks up to him. He has a way of inspiring people. He's exactly the kind of leader we need."

"Leia, as much as I agree with you," Mara finally spoke up without looking away from the navicomputer. "We ended up here for a reason. The Force led us _here_ as much as it led us _away_ from the Mandalorians. Maybe we were meant to find Drathan."

"You agree with this?" Leia rounded on her.

"I agree with _both_ of you," Mara corrected Leia, finally turning to face the other two women. "But it wouldn't hurt to talk to Drathan. It's not like he can force us to leave or anything. We're already trying to leave."

"He'll insist on staying with his people," Danni said. "You'll need to convince him there is a need in the galaxy for his help."

"Me?" Leia asked. "Why does this fall on my shoulders. This is your idea."

"Because you're the senior diplomat?" Danni asked. "Leia, if someone has to convince Luke and Pellaeon that he's the guy we need, it won't be me. Get to know him and you'll see what I see. He's the future of the galaxy. I can _feel_ it."

* * *

"How many ships?" Han demanded when Kel finally stood before him. It had taken nearly seven hours for Kel to find _Yoda_ inside the nebula, and if it had not been for Tyria and Lowie working together with the Force to direct him they would still be searching. They were in the newly air-tight bridge, finally having escaped their pressure suits for a short time. The work crews were trying to repair the main generator now that it was off-line and relatively safe, but power reserves were dwindling. The last time Han looked, they had little more than a day of power reserves left.

"Thirty?" Kel responded. "Maybe forty. One command ship with scouts and fighters. That's not even the biggest problem. I burned up half the fuel in this one flight trying to get back here. Not to mention we're sitting ducks if they ever find us."

"They must have found out we downloaded their data core," Tyria said. "There's no other reason they would have that many ships looking for us."

"A lot of good it would do anyway," Han said. "All we got was production data for the shipyards. You know, the ones we just blew up."

"And ship specifications," Bhindi reminded him. She was recently released from the med bay, but her arm was in a sling from having her collar bone broken. "That information is more valuable than the production data."

Artoo twiddled and opened a compartment. Bhindi removed the data storage block inside and Artoo snapped the cover shut.

"He said he doesn't want to carry it anymore," Bhindi translated the astromech's beeps. "Where should we put this?"

"Back in the droid," Han said. "We have enough to worry about without a prissy droid telling us where to put his data."

Artoo bleeped an annoyed response and rotated his head forty-five degrees in either direction.

Han drew his blaster and pointed it at the astromech.

"I haven't slept in three days," Han said. "I haven't eaten a real meal in five days. I have a ship falling apart around me with your owner's kid in mortal danger and a shipload of Jedi to babysit. I don't have time to put up with your games, trash can."

The data storage compartment popped open before Han could finish his rant, and Bhindi replaced the block.

"Good droid," Han said. "Now you don't let that thing out of you for anyone except Luke. You hear me? Not even for me."

Artoo warbled softly and fell silent.

"How's the work coming on the subspace transceiver?"

[Installed in the X-wing, but we have a problem,] Lowie said.

"Add it to the list."

[The X-wing does not have enough power to produce a strong subspace signal using the larger antenna from this ship,] Lowie explained. [Kel and I have devised two solutions.]

"Why do I get the feeling I won't like either of them?" Han asked.

"You won't," Kel responded. "The first one is to remove a power cell from _Yoda_ and mount it on the X-wing. As you know, we're pretty short on power as it is with the main generator down."

[The other is to install a capacitor and alluvial damper from _Yoda_ into the X-wing power grid,] Lowie said. [We would have to burn all the fuel on board and store the energy in the capacitor, and then channel it all into the subspace radio at one time. Whoever does that needs to control the power flow going through the alluvial damper manually because both the X-wing's and _Yoda_'s control systems have been damaged.]

"With either plan," Kel interrupted. "We would get at most twenty seconds worth of transmission time. We couldn't even transmit the data Artoo downloaded in that time, _and_ the chance of the Mandalorians locating the X-wing is somewhere between one hundred and a billion percent."

"You do realize we only have one alluvial damper on board," Han said.

"The hyperdrive, we know," Kel said grimly. "Which isn't doing us any good right now. And the X-wing will be stranded out there as well. It would be a suicide mission."

"I hate it when I'm right," Han sighed. "Okay, rig the capacitor and the damper into the X-wing. I'll fly it out myself. We need the power cells on this ship for life support and the med bay."

Before anyone could object to Han taking the mission himself, Kel interrupted.

"There's one other problem," he said. "In order to encrypt the communication, Artoo has to be on board…"

"And with the data we took from the shipyard locked inside him…" Tyria continued.

[That you just told him not to give it to anyone except Master Skywalker…] Lowie continued.

Han dropped his head to his palm and swore.

* * *

Hanging in the middle of nowhere between two slowly-moving asteroids, the _Lady Luck_ hosted the most exclusive sabbacc game in the galaxy: Lando Calrissian vs. Kyle Katarn.

"Idiot's array!" Lando exclaimed.

"Ya don't say," Kyle replied unenthusiastically. His head rested on the palm of his hand that was resting on the table. The two of them were playing for first refresher privileges in the morning since Kyle sincerely hated sabbacc and refused to play with real credits.

"Do you know the chances of getting an idiots array?" Lando asked.

"A little bit better than hearing back from the Jedi Council in a timely fashion."

"Come on, Kyle," Lando chided him while feeding the card chits back into the shuffler. "They'll get back to you soon enough."

As if Lando's words activated it, the communication suite bleeped, and Kyle practically sprinted toward the console.

"They want us to proceed to Coruscant and get in touch with Jan," Kyle said. He suddenly found himself stuck between two difficult decisions: Playing cards with Lando, and finding his ex-partner.

"Coruscant, eh?" Lando asked. "I think I'll drop you off somewhere you can hitch a ride. My ship is a little too recognizable to get in there without a search."

"You're coming with me, right?"

"No, no, I have to get back to my factory," Lando said. "It might just be done, and I don't want it to miss the festivities."

Kyle rolled his eyes. Ever since he busted Lando out of the cell, the gambler had been hinting about some new project he was working on with his wife, but not sharing any details.

"Fine," Kyle said, looking at his chrono. "I think I'll get some sleep so I can adjust to Coruscant standard time."

* * *

"I don't remember anything from before seven years ago," Reg admitted. "I woke up on a ship that was badly damaged. We landed on a planet and these people were dragging me along. I had no idea what was going on or where I was. They kept saying something about some guy and learning secrets from me, but I knew nothing. The only thing I had was that little droid stuffed in my tunic. I always thought they didn't know it was there."

"Amnesia," Jaina supplied. "You must have had a head injury."

"Obviously," Reg said sarcastically. "After they figured out I wasn't lying, they electrocuted me somehow—I didn't even see a weapon—then they just left me there, to die, I guess. A while later, I don't know how long, some women found me and made me their slave. They told me I was 'lucky' to have them take care of me. Just the same, first chance I got, I escaped their 'care' and stowed away aboard this ship."

Jaina and Eriana nodded. They knew all too well what Dathomiri Nightsister "care" was like. The stories they'd heard from Tenel Ka were enough to make even the most foolhardy soul cautious.

"When the captain found me, he was going to toss me out the airlock, but I helped him out. I could tell he was a smuggler of some sort, looking to make some money. Somehow I knew about some profitable trades he could make. They just kinda came to me.

"What kind of trades?" asked Jaina.

"You know, where to buy something cheaper or get a better price for a cargo. Once I pointed out a way to shave a few parsecs off a jump."

She tilted her head thoughtfully. That would definitely be something Raynar Thul, head of a trading conglomerate, would have known. She smirked slightly. _I've got you now, Raynar!_

"Anyway," Thrall continued, ignoring Jaina's triumphant expression, "he took me on as a partner."

"Where is he now?" said Nelani.

"Dead," Reg responded. "Poor Jarrod. Got himself killed a couple years back. I told him not to go…at least I got the ship."

Reg smiled with sarcastic brightness. "And three Jedi. One of which thinks she knows me. Whoda thought that?"

Jaina frowned, letting the story unfold through her mind, finally starting to understand what happened to her long lost friend.

"I'm so sorry, Raynar...er... Reg," Jaina said, quickly correcting herself at the sight of his scowl. "I'm sorry, but you _are _Raynar Thul. How else could you have come across this particular droid, and how else could I know how you ended up with Nightsisters on Dathomir?"

"And I suppose you're going to tell me my mommy and daddy are some rich royals that are just waiting for me to come home and be part of the happy family again?"

"Your dad is dead, Raynar," She said softly. "You…you watched him die from a plague the Emperor had created. He sacrificed himself so you could live.

"And the fact is that your mom and uncle run a quite profitable trading company. Much more than…" Jaina looked around for inspiration and gestured to the aging ship they were in, "_this_."

"What's wrong with _this_?" Reg demanded with the same tone Jaina had heard many times from her father after the _Falcon_ was insulted. "This ship was right there when you needed it. This ship is your only hope to going to wherever you so desperately want to go. Beggars can't be choosers, kid. Just remember that."

Reg stood up and walked to his bed chamber.

"Whoever that Raynar was, he's dead," Reg said with an air of finality. "If you give it up now, maybe I'll give you a discount when you get off my ship."

* * *

The doors to the guest room impacted the wall across the hallway with enough speed to embed themselves half way into the thick stone wall and spray rock splinters like fireworks. Shocked guards fell to their training and aimed their blasters at the Jedi, only to find themselves traveling at high speed away from their intended target. Jacen marched through the familiar hallways towards the location he sensed Tenel Ka without regard for obstacles of any sort. Guards fell to positions behind doorways and corners with arms ready, only to find their blasters would not work, or would disappear out of their hands and appear embedded in the walls on opposite sides of the hallway. Those brave enough to attack the Jedi with swords or improvised weapons were intercepted with telekinetic shoves or blasts of lightning that would leave the guards uninjured, but no longer able to threaten even a child.

Half way to Tenel Ka's location, the Palace itself started attacking Jacen. Wall mounted anti-infantry turrets appeared and fired sustained bursts of energy that were easily intercepted by a pair of lightsabers that danced around the Jedi so fast an onlooker would swear that he was wearing a personal shield. He continued to stroll through the Palace, letting the Force take over as he walked through the chaos the Palace was trying to inflict on him with the unconcerned attitude that could only be maintained by the focused simmering rage that empowered him. Blast doors sealed before him only to be ripped open by the sheer power of Jacen's rage. After penetrating the last layers of defense, seven ancient droidekas greeted him at the doors to the throne room, behind which he sensed Tenel Ka's presence among many other people.

The droidekas leveled their blasters at him, but a whisper of Jacen's rage shoved them aside, smashing the droids to pieces against pillars and walls around him.

Amid the noise, Jacen heard one voice from inside the Throne Room.

Augber Mecve.

"And it is with great pleasure that the Queen and I announce the date…"

The doors blasted open at his call, and everyone assembled turned to face him.

"Announce what?" Jacen demanded, his cold fury draining slightly.

"The date of our wedding," Augber said with false brightness. Gasps sounded on cue around the room, but Jacen did not join in. He reached out with the Force towards his old friend and found the same fogginess he sensed before. Looking across the room with the Force to enhance his vision, Tenel Ka's eyes looked unfocused and she appeared to be smiling absent-mindedly.

"I object," Jacen replied. "The queen is being manipulated. Stand down and let me see to her."

"What is the meaning of this?" Augber demanded. "You come here claiming to be a guest, and you attack us? Guards, arrest this illegal Jedi. I will not let you near my fiancée!"

"Funny," Jacen sneered. "I was about to say the same thing."

The crowd looked between the two men with growing curiosity and concern for their own well-being, but Jacen could sense they sided with Augber.

As if that mattered.

"You make claim to my queen?" Augber asked. "This is a dishonour you will not bear long. I challenge you to a duel!"

_I don't have time for this idiot,_ Jacen thought.

"Pick your weapon and let's get this over with," Jacen said. He reached into Augber's mind and assessed the larger man. He possessed much combat training and his mind suggested he was comfortable in duels. Images passed through the man's mind of other men he had defeated, and Jacen sensed a measure of mischievousness sprouting in the man's consciousness.

The crowd parted politely to create an area for the two men to fight, and Augber approached Jacen. He removed his fancy outer jacket to reveal a simple white shirt underneath, and handed the jacket to his second.

"No second?" Augber mocked. "Will anyone take this Jedi's cloak?"

"The fight won't last that long."

"Ah, a little overconfident, are we?" Augber asked in a tone of voice that made Jacen want to slap him into orbit. "We shall see about that."

A familiar rancor tooth appeared in Augber's hand and he ignited the lightsaber blade. Jacen's eyes flashed at the sight, and his rage redoubled.

"I've always wanted to spar with a Jedi," Augber said slyly. "Is that Jedi reputation worth the hype?"

"Frak off," Jacen said. He called on the Force and wretched the rancor tooth out of the other man's hand with enough force to rip a layer of skin away with it. A sweeping gesture with his right hand launched Augber through a window ten metres off the ground, and his scream dissipated as he soared away from the Palace.

Jacen snatched the lightsaber out of the air and marched up to Tenel Ka without regard for the shocked spectators who started to jeer him. He sat beside her in the chair Augber had just vacated and clipped the rancor tooth lightsaber back on her belt. He cradled her cheeks in his hands and looked into her eyes. The fake grin faded on her face, but her eyes still remained out of focus as she stared dimly over Jacen's right shoulder.

"Jacen?" She asked dully.

"I'm here Tenel Ka," Jacen said softly. "You're safe now."

"Arrest him!" Someone shouted. "He has assaulted the queen and her consort!"

Jacen looked up and found several weary guards entering the chamber, all of which he had already faced this evening. His eyes sought out the face of the voice he heard and found his suspicions confirmed – Mecve's mother. Around her, the crowd was yelling insults and making threatening gestures, but they seemed unwilling to face off with him. Deciding he was safe, he ignored them and turned his attention back to Tenel Ka.

He reached deep into the Force and looked into her body. In her blood he found toxins coursing through her body, a drug no doubt intended to make her passive and controllable. He drew on his knowledge imparted by Vergere and extracted a sample of her blood with the Force which he floated in front of himself.

"You," Jacen pointed to one of Tenel Ka's aides. "Bring me water. Now."

He pushed his mind into the sample and separated the toxins from the blood. Upon further examination, he determined the chemical breakup of the toxins. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly he recognized the formula from one of his Sith holocrons. Once he knew the identity of the poison, using the Force to make the antidote was simple, if meticulously delicate. The aide brought him a forty-litre barrel of water and dropped it at his feet.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Jacen chuckled, despite the seriousness of the situation. Three of the spectators, larger burly men, took this opportunity to jump Jacen. They sprinted at him together, but a simple flick of his hand sent them tumbling and sliding across the slick floor of the throne room.

He yanked open the lid of the container and used the Force to extract a sufficient quantity of water, holding it in mid-air as he worked. He joined the toxin sample together with the water and manipulated the molecules, using the Force to shape the liquid as his mind had imagined.

So focused on his task, he did not notice the shrieking of mother Mecve, the gasps of shock from the crowd, or the return of a torn and bloody Augber. Completely distracted, he did not notice the bloodied fist that grabbed his robes and threw him an easy five metres towards the crowd.

The crowd parted as Jacen flew at them and slid across the floor. He used his momentum to roll himself to his feet and spread his hands in anticipation for attack. Augber took Tenel Ka's lightsaber in hand again and stalked towards Jacen.

"You owe me a duel," Augber growled. A chunk of glass was still embedded in the other man's cheek and blood covered his face, giving him the look of a deranged prison escapee.

"I know you were poisoning Tenel Ka," Jacen said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "What I don't know is how you came across a Sith potion. Is your mommy making a deal with the devil to get power?"

"Kill him, Augber!" The voice Jacen associated with Augber's mother shouted. "The Jedi's lies must be stopped!"

Augber lunged at Jacen but the Jedi was not there. He leapt high over the large Hapan and twisted in the air to deliver a powerful Force-assisted roundhouse kick to the side of Augber's head. The larger man took the hit with surprising resistance and Jacen tumbled to the ground. He rolled away to avoid an awkward slash from the lightsaber and came to his feet.

"You can't win, Augber," Jacen warned the other man. "Not even Boba Fett could take me down. Stand down before someone gets hurt."

"Draw your lightsaber and face me!" Augber shouted. "Or die like the coward you are!"

Jacen sighed and removed his lightsaber hilt from his belt.

"Now what?" Jacen asked.

Before Augber could respond, the hilt leapt from Jacen's hand and shot at the Hapan like a bullet, impacting the man's forehead with enough force to knock the man out on his feet. Both lightsabers returned to Jacen's hands as Augber fell to the ground, and he ignored the silent crowd as he returned to making the serum again. Moments later, five dozen guards burst into the room and surrounded Jacen and Tenel Ka with blasters drawn.

"Step away from the Queen!" One guard shouted.

Jacen drew on the Force and his training with the Aing Tii to slow time. The entire room appeared to freeze around him as time slowed to a crawl. Jacen focused on the serum again and realigned the molecules as quickly as he could. A minute later a blaster was fired at Jacen and the bolt slowly traveled toward him, a spiraling streak of violet light in time. His focus on the serum did not even allow him to register the bright stream of light as it crawled toward him, and minutes later in his pocket of time he finally completed the serum and noticed the blaster bolt. Despite his control on time, he knew he would not have the time to get out of the way. He used the Force to throw the liquid at Tenel Ka's face just as the blaster bolt burned into his chest, breaking all his concentration and throwing him to the ground.

* * *

_A tropical planet…northern hemisphere…a cave of crystals with mining equipment…Green eyes like the forest…flashes of blue and red…a lizard's tail…an insane laugh…_

Jaina woke in a cold sweat and a panic. For a few seconds she looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was before she realized she was aboard Raynar's ship on their way to Garos IV. She extracted herself from the small sleeping alcove and went to the passenger area where Eriana was still tinkering with Em-Teedee. Jaina had tried to repair the little droid after Raynar had gone to bed, but had little success. She couldn't find anything mechanically wrong with the little droid and was so emotionally distracted that Jaina was afraid she was going to do more harm than good. She finally decided to get some sleep and leave the repair to Eriana.

"Can't sleep?" Eriana asked without looking up from her work.

"How could you tell?" Jaina asked, sitting across the table from Eriana so she could watch the other woman work.

"Well, you're awake, for one," Eriana said. "But I could sense the Force swirling around you. Another vision?"

"Yeah." Jaina tried rubbing the sleep from her eyes, but it merely made her want her bed that much more. "How far out are we?"

"Another day," Eriana replied. "There was an ion storm near Leria Kersil so Reg had to divert to the Hydian Way on sublight instead of continuing on the Corellian Run. We're on the Daragon Trail now."

"Fine, fine," she muttered. Jaina stared moodily at the stubborn droid. Out of nowhere, she demanded to no one in particular, "Why did he do it?"

"Because he's a stubborn old bantha who believes he's right all the time," Eriana cut her off before she could rant any further.

Jaina looked at her in surprise.

"I assume you mean your brother?" Eriana still did not even glance up at her. She sensed that Jaina's frustration had had switched back to her brother now that Reg had completely rejected her thoughts about him being Raynar. "I think you, of all people, would know how much he cares about Tenel Ka. If he thought she was sending a message to him, like you said, we both know him well enough to know he'd stop at nothing to find her. I pity the fools who thought they could mess with her and get away with it."

"You think he'd go to the Dark Side?" A black hole appeared below Jaina's stomach, threatening to suck her insides into cold nothingness.

"Jacen doesn't even believe in the dark side," Eriana said, finally looking up from the droid. "Even though he was pushed to the breaking point of his sanity by Vergere, he still tried to save as many lives as he could. Have you even met your brother? Of course he's not going dark. The day that guy goes dark is the day I eat this droid with a side of rancor bones. But that won't stop him from making a mess of anyone who gets in his way."

"I _told_ him Zekk and Saba needed our help, but he wouldn't listen! The Force sent me a vision and I _knew_ we had to follow it!"

"You may not realize it," Eriana said with a grin. "But you two are a lot more alike than either of you would ever admit. Neither of you like to admit being wrong."

After Jaina considered the other woman's words for a few moments, Eriana gently touched Jaina's shoulder. For the first time, Jaina noticed that Eriana still had several bandages on her arm, and presumably more on the rest of her burns. Guilt welled up inside her for not being more sympathetic to her brother's friend.

"Try to get some more rest, Jaina. I have a feeling you'll need your strength when we get there."

Jaina nodded and stood up, but turned back to her.

"How are you taking this so easily?" She blurted. "He stranded you on Corellia with me without a word."

"Jaina, let me ask you an oddly related question: Do you want any nieces or nephews?"

"It'd be nice, eventually. Why?"

"Then, as a favour to you, I'll find somewhere else to kick him," Eriana said meaningfully with a wicked little smile.

Jaina felt herself go a little cold, then hot, connecting the dots. Clearly, she had underestimated Eriana's feelings.

But Eriana shook her head and sighed. "I suppose I just realize that there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well do what I can. I haven't exactly had a whole lot of meaning in my life since I left the Jensaarai. Jacen's taken me along, bouncing around from planet to planet, learning random facts and uses for the Force. If you weren't left behind on Corellia with me, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself. I like being a follower, Jaina, not a leader. That's why you're here."

Jaina finally turned away, not entirely sure what to feel anymore. Before she could get far, a severe burning sensation in her chest stole her breath and dropped her to her knees.

"Jacen!" She gasped as the shared pain robbed her of consciousness.

* * *

For a person who grew up on a hot, dry desert world, Luke Skywalker found the hot, humid tropical world of Thyferra extremely uncomfortable and difficult to fall asleep in despite the long day of events.

After arriving on the planet, Luke was greeted by the senior politicians and business leaders, followed by a media storm. While all the parties involved kept a polite and interested face forward, Luke could sense a nagging underlying feeling that something was amiss. He spent several hours at a reception where he met more members of the government and bacta cartels, and found himself with a complete lack of ability to recall any of their names an hour later. Following the reception, he had a private meeting with Bror Jace and some of Jace's most trusted advisors. During the meeting Bror had suggested that the unsettled atmosphere in Thyferra was mostly due to the loss of the Jedi Temple and that convincing the other business leaders of the alliances strengths would be the most expedient way of gaining favour with them. Several hours of discussing political strategy that evaluated everything from ways to reduce the appearance of the Mandalorian threat to stepping down as leader left Luke nearly exhausted, especially considering the twelve-hour differential due to hyperspace-lag.

When the Jedi Master and old Rogue pilot arrived at the hotel room, Bror Jace's people were already there completing a sweep for bugs. Bror spoke quickly about suspicions regarding Sith involvement in the political activity on Thyferra, as well as disappearances in pro-Jedi leaders before disappearing into the night with his team.

All this combined left Luke staring out his window into the city lights in the middle of the night, drinking a cool glass of water and wishing Mara or Leia were with him to sort out his thoughts.

Or perhaps it was the Force keeping him awake, subconsciously informing him that a bomb had been planted in his bed.

A second after his danger-sense flared, the explosion ripped the hover-door off it's track, sending it flying into the common room Luke had been standing in. He avoided the door neatly, and extended his senses to search for other threats. He could detect seven people in the hallway outside his room, and the charge they had planted on the door.

He could also sense his lightsaber somewhere in his bedroom, likely several hundred degrees hotter than he could touch right now, even with his artificial hand.

_Someone always has to try…_

Luke used the Force to pick up the discarded bedroom door and held it half way between himself and the outer door. Barely a second later the charge exploded, blasting shrapnel into the room, none of which hit the Jedi Master hidden behind the door.

The assassins burst into the room, blasters ready. What they likely expected to find was the burning corpse of a political opponent of the Mandalorians on the remains of his bed. Instead, they found a half-naked sandy-haired man looking at them, holding a glass of water slightly forward and off to the side threateningly.

"I'll warn you," Luke said reasonably. "I'm not afraid to use this."

A blaster bolt lanced out and hit the glass, shattering it.

"Use it now!" The assassin who shot the glass taunted, drawing laughs from his friends. Perhaps, if he was not laughing, he may have noticed that the chunks of glass had not fallen to the ground.

"Okay," Luke said cheerfully. He flicked the unshattered base of the glass at the nearest assassin and sent the other shards toward the seven blasters pointed at him. Or more accurately, inside the barrels. Reflexively, two assassins pulled the triggers, exploding their own weapons from the misaligned reflections the foreign glass provided, killing themselves instantly. The remaining five did not have time to notice the man had leapt across the room behind them. One assassin fell from a well-placed punch to the back of his skull. Another was removed from the fight with a Force-enhanced back-spin side kick that sent him an easy eight metres through the glass windows and screaming on his way to the ground some twenty storeys below.

Finally realizing they were not dealing with the average politician, the remaining three assassins discarded their useless blasters and drew wicked-looking metre-long swords, forcing Luke to revise his strategy. He used the Force to call the sword from the unconscious man at his feet to his hand and twirled the blade in a figure eight before flipping it lengthwise along his right arm in a reverse grip.

"Last chance to run away."

"There's three of us and one of you," one assassin said. "I like our odds better."

Two stepped forward, approaching Luke together to try surrounding him and not let him force them to fight him single-file. As one went to his left, he turned his back to the one on his right. Together, they thrust their blades at him, expecting to skewer him from both sides. Instead, Luke palmed the blade in front of him to the right, stepped right, and brought the sword blade forward at shoulder height, removing the head of the assassin. The third assassin came at Luke with an overhead chop, but did not see the blade of his associate being directed by Luke's palm into his chest. Two flicks of the Force sent the sword and the last conscious assassin flying. He slammed against the wall with enough force to be knocked unconscious, leaving Luke to toss the sword to the ground sadly. Three seconds later, local police and fire fighters stormed into the room, entirely surprised to see a team of well-equipped assassins neutralized by a Jedi in his underwear.

* * *

It was an odd place that Ben Skywalker found himself. He was walking through an old temple built out of large stone blocks on some jungle moon that he could swear he had never been to before. As he walked along, he realized his mom was holding his hand, leading him through the corridors. After a few twists and turns, they ran into Tionne. He looked up at the tall pale woman as she spoke with his mom, realizing he had never seen her quite so tall before. Both women spoke in words that Ben did not understand, and Ben's hand was given to Tionne. His mother crouched down to say something to him and the second she opened her mouth, Ben woke up with a start.

The bed he had strapped himself to shook violently enough to terrify him into a near panic. He unstrapped himself from the bed and floated toward the door of his quarters. He floated his way towards the command deck where he went through the makeshift airlock and found his uncle looking up at him from reviewing the repair status reports while floating in mid air. Several days of sleeplessness looked to make the lines on his face look deeper than Ben had remembered.

"Ben? You should be sleeping."

"The ship just shook," Ben said. "What happened?"

"I didn't feel it," Han said. "But I've been floating around."

He tapped his comlink. "Everyone report in; what just happened?"

A series of intense beeps immediately came through from Artoo.

"A ship? Are you sure?" Han demanded.

A rather insistent tone replied, and Ben's translation droid piped up.

"He appears quite sure, Captain," TeeBee drawled. "A Mandalorian scout seems to have grazed our outer hull and located us. I believe we are now doomed."

"Tyria! I need _good_ news!" Han shouted through the comm. "We've been located!"

"We just got the power generator back online," Tyria's voice came back. "Is that good enough?"

"What's the power capacity?" Han said, sceptical as ever.

"About half," Tyria responded. "Enough to power up the hyperdrive or the engine, but I don't know how much damage the power conduits have taken. The entire power grid could short out the second we turn it on."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Han said. "Power it up slowly. Forget the load testing; we need to get moving.

"Lowie, where are ya?"

[Shoulder deep in the hyperdrive,] The Wookiee responded. [I just removed the alluvial damper. What's going on? I felt something shake.]

"Mandos found us, power generator is online, and we need weapons."

"_Weapons_?" Every voice tied to the command channel demanded at once. Even Artoo tweeted his surprise.

"What can you do for me?" Han ignored them. There's no way he would let those Mandalorians kill him without a fight.

[Well,] Lowie growled thoughtfully, [The plasma torpedo launchers are still healthy. They're upset, but I think I can convince them to cooperate. I'll need Ben at the port launcher.]

"Go," Han ordered. He punched a button on the console and heard a chime indicating shipwide communications were open just as Ben entered the airlock. "Everyone, this is Han. We're going into battle. Get ready; this will _not_ be fun."

Han put his pressure suit helmet on and floated to the navigation controls, strapping himself into the chair with a length of wire he ripped from a hole in the ceiling where the plating had been blown off.

"Kel, what are you doing?"

"Getting to my X-wing so I can escape this insanity," Kel's voice replied. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Ordering you to cover us," Han replied. "Wait until we're out of the nebula before you launch. We'll make a run at the command ship and leave the fighers to you."

"Thirty-to-one in a damaged fighter, eh?" Kel said approvingly. "I hope they write songs about this."

"I'm hoping for an entire opera myself," Han muttered and slapped the still-dead console. "Tyria, where's my power?"

"We're powering up now," A voice from an engineering team member that Han did not recognize replied. "Give us a moment."

Ten agonizing seconds ticked by before the panels around the bridge flickered on and told Han he could power up the engine.

"Thank you!" Han exclaimed, goosing the throttle forward. He could feel the ship creak and moan under the stress through vibrations sent up the chair. The ship slowly crawled forward and Han applied more power to the engine. "Let me know if anything's going to blow down there. And some shields would be nice."

[Torpedo launchers are cooperating,] Lowie barked. [But I have to fire them manually, and I can only be at one.]

"Can Ben fire the other?"

[We'll do what we can,] Lowie replied in a sceptical tone of bark that very few humans could have detected.

"Keep your eyes open," Han said. "We're nearing the edge of the nebula. As soon as you can see 'em, fire everything you have at them."

After several tense moments, the nebula pulled away from the ship and Han picked out the shape of a Mandalorian carrier. If the reports he read were accurate, the ship was relatively light on weapons, but could carry up to a hundred fighters. Han squinted out the viewport but could only make out the glint of five fighters around the ship.

"Kel, launch time!" Han ordered. "Lowie, get firing!"

Plasma torpedoes launched three at a time from each launcher in repeated salvoes. Lowie's fired about three times for each time Ben's did, but it had the desired effect. After several shots, Ben's launcher sped up slightly but was still lagging behind Lowie's. The carrier turned towards _Yoda_ and launched a torpedo salvo of its own in response.

"Brace for impact!" Han shouted just as the first torpedoes hit. They impacted the wing near Lowbacca's torpedo turret but Han did not have time to notice Lowie kept firing. His controls went dead, and with them the port engine.

"Where's my engine?" Han demanded.

"That hit took out the power grid!" Kel's voice responded. "We're sitting ducks!"

Han looked up and saw a stream of torpedoes firing from both ships as _Yoda_ rocked repeatedly from multiple hits, taking the massive explosions on its reinforced hull armour.

"Why aren't you outside?" Han shouted at Kel. "There's…"

"Tyria took the X-wing!" Kel shouted back. "Her mind tricks sent me to the refresher. Do you know how hard it is to launch a toilet?"

The lone X-wing soared between the two ships and blasted a fighter and several torpedoes to scrap.

"Sorry, Cap't," Tyria's voice came to him. "I thought you'd want a Jedi out here to even the odds."

More explosions rocked the ship as the reinforced armour took a pounding from several directions. A section of the bridge blew away from Han, and all the air rushed out quickly. Something hit Han's shoulder, ripping a hole in the sleeve and the air whistled out of the suit.

_Maybe this wasn't such a great idea,_ Han thought. An odd calmness came over him when he spotted a series of torpedoes honing in on his location. _I'm sorry, Leia._


	13. 6 Days

**6 Days...**

Amid the shady forest on the northern hemisphere of Garos IV, a planet covered in thick coniferous forests, a lone Sith ship settled down near a Jedi transport. From the ship emerged a short blonde girl with a lightsaber in hand who cautiously approached the Jedi transport like a dog approaching a suspicious meal. What she saw inside caused her to yelp in surprise. She rushed forward into the ship, but a concussion grenade knocked her back several paces, covering her ears and eyes against the staggering assault on her senses. She did not see, hear, nor sense through the Force Sekava as he approached her and shot her point-blank with a blaster.

Sekava looked to the sky for a moment, cocking his head to the side as if he heard a distant sound, and finally proceeded to collect his bounty. He had a bit of a hike to make with the five bodies before _that_ arrived.

* * *

As Luke investigated the assassination attempt on his life with the ruling families of Thyferra he discovered that solid walls could appear in minutes where thin air was before. He contacted every one of the ruling families' corporations, requesting to speak with the senior family member. Each time, except for the case with Bror Jace's family, he was told that they were busy, in meetings, or otherwise unavailable. Jace's family had nothing to report. They told Luke essentially what he already knew – knowledge of his presence on Thyferra was widespread, and anyone could have organized assassins to visit him. The only thing of value that Luke had learned was that Hapes had rejoined the Jedi Coalition, having exposed Mandalorians meddling with internal politics.

This left Luke with two choices: He could ignore the assassination attempt and continue with his diplomatic mission; or, he could visit the Bacta Council and try to get some answers face-to-face.

Since Luke's keen political acumen and Jedi intuition hinted at a connection between the assassination attempt and the diplomatic mission, he decided to start knocking on some doors.

After a morning of visiting the various Bacta cartel leaders and being lied to through their clenched teeth, Luke gave up and went to see Bror Jace again.

"They're trying to kill me," Luke finally concluded after he ran through the events of his day with Jace. "It's the only logical conclusion. They're after the bounty on my head."

"We joined the Jedi thinking they would be the wise choice," Jace said, hardly able to believe Luke's deductions but unable to find another conclusion. "That we wouldn't have to face another Palpatine and the warlords that followed him. Now look at us – greedily going after an ally for credits."

"By no means do I blame your family," Luke started, but Jace interrupted him.

"You should," he said. "No, you _have_ to blame us. All of us. I know it may be premature, but if you single us out as supporters of the Jedi, our lives could be at risk."

"I understand," Luke said. "I don't like it, but I understand."

"My father and I are meeting with the others in an hour," Jace said. "You should get back to your hotel. I'll update you after the meeting, but I would pack my bags if I were you. I don't think you'll be here much longer."

"Sell me out," Luke said. "I'll be ready to run. It'll save your family from suspicion."

"Luke, we can't..."

"Of course you can," Luke insisted. "Trust me, Thyferra is already lost, but your family could be its last redeeming hope for the future."

* * *

Very few things were on the list of what scared Darth Krak. As a master of Vaapad and the Force, he was quite able to defend himself from nearly any onslaught, whether they were blaster bolts or lightsaber blades. Words rarely had much impact on him as he was, admittedly, somewhat uneducated and thuggish.

However, Soora Bulq screaming at him, even from hundreds of lightyears away, was probably number two on his list. Number one would be if the Sith Master was screaming at him in the same room.

"How could _you_ let _Hapes_ rejoin the Jedi Coalition?" Soora screamed so insanely that the spittle that flew from his lips was captured on the holocam. "How could _your_ assassins fail to kill Luke _fraking_ Skywalker in his _underwear_? How could Jacen Solo interfere _again_? What happened to our shipyards? The senate is going to rake me over the coals for this!"

"I don't know, _Master_," Darth Krak said, himself getting angry. "The Jedi seem half a step ahead of us at every turn."

"I _hate_ this!" Soora shouted. "I don't want your excuses; I want this _fixed_! Get a fleet to intercept Skywalker and blow the hell out of him! I want Skywalker dead! And don't stop there! I want his wife, his kid, his sister, his frakking brother-in-law and every last spawn of that cursed family _dead_ and I want them all dead _now_!"

Soora terminated the conversation, but Darth Krak took nearly ten minutes to recover. He had never seen Soora so upset, and he feared the Sith Master was nearing the end of his sanity…and with his sanity, the hopes of the Sith to rule the galaxy.

* * *

Han dropped through a hole in the command deck of _Yoda_ onto the hanger bay of _Alderaanian Spires_ and removed his helmet. He breathed in the cold, sterile air of the Star Destroyer with satisfaction for several moments, happy with the fact he was no longer on board the death trap of a ship that Luke had given him.

"Han!" Tycho Celchu himself called out from the turboshaft nearest to _Yoda_. "You're alive!"

"Thanks to you!" Han called back. He clasped hands with Tycho and pulled him into a one-armed hug that Tycho was more than happy to end as quickly as possible. "I've never seen someone drop a Star Destroyer out of hyperspace and ram a ship like that."

"It was close, and we could have easily hit you," Tycho admitted. He looked up at _Yoda_'s damaged hull and whistled. "How the hell did you keep that thing together?"

"A smuggler never tells his secrets," Han said with his trademark grin. "We have wounded."

"Our people are already on it," Tycho said, indicating the teams already swarming the outer hull of the ship. "We'll need a full report when you're ready."

"Mando cloaking devices suck and their shipyards blow up nicely," Han said significantly. "Have you heard from Ben or Lowie?"

[Here,] A hearty growl came from behind Han.

He turned around and saw the Wookiee floating beside him on a hover gurney. The medical team had removed his helmet and were in the process of cutting away the pressure suit. A long metal pole was protruding from his back and he was covered in blood, but the Wookiee seemed to be controlling the blood flow with the Force.

[Ben is alive and well,] Lowie growled, despite the insistence of the medics to remain silent. [I can sense he is already in medical care.]

"Thanks, Lowie," Han said. "You did a great job. Get into one of those healing trance thingies and a bacta tank."

Lowie grunted his thanks and was pushed away.

"Anything else I can do for you?" Tycho asked.

"Point me to the nearest shower and buffet table," Han replied. "I need to become human again."

"Gladly, Hanbacca."

* * *

"_Please meet Tahiri at Garos IV, Zekk. Bring another Jedi with you to be safe. Tahiri has important information you need to get to Master Luke." _The holographic image of Jacen said.

"_Absolutely, Jacen," _Zekk's voice had responded. "_Where should we meet her?"_

"_There is an abandoned mining facility on the north-western hemisphere," _Jacen had replied. "_Tahiri said that the Mandalorians used it to develop their new cloaking technology. Snoop around there if you get the chance to see if they left anything important behind. There should be a high concentration of…"_

Jaina shut the recording off and looked around helplessly. She could not remember feeling this helpless since before the Vong war, and during the war she might have lashed out at anyone and everyone to stave off the helpless feeling. Now, she was a different Jaina – a fact she was not entirely sure she liked.

Zekk's ship, the _Lightning Rod_, had been abandoned. The last couple recordings in the ships log indicated that he picked up Saba and her apprentice before proceeding to the meeting place to find Tahiri. Tahiri's ship was not far away, and Eriana had found indentations in the ground not far off that indicated another ship had landed in the area. She could sense that Zekk and the others had been here but that they were now gone. To make matters worse, the hollow feeling in her chest that had knocked her out earlier echoed the hollowness in her twin-bond. She could still not sense her brother's presence, which meant that he was either hiding from her, unconscious, or dead. The pain she experienced made her less inclined to consider either of the first options, which made her feel that much more helpless and alone.

"It could have been anyone that took them," Eriana had said. "And they could be anywhere now."

Jaina's decision to search for clues had only uncovered evidence that she missed her friends by mere hours – far less time than she had spent looking for a ship to get here. The remains of several concussion grenades detonated inside and around the ship were fresh, as were several footprints outside.

_I'm so sorry, Zekk_, Jaina thought as she started the _Lightning Rod_'s pre-flight warm-up. _I'll find you. I promise._

"Jaina?" Nelani's voice came from behind her, so she turned to face her apprentice and Reg.

"Yeah?"

"We finished searching the area," Nelani said sadly. "There's no sign they were anywhere but here. Captain Thrall offered to stay behind with Eriana to check out the mining facility if you wanted to leave. For a price." The younger woman glared up at the captain, who smiled and shrugged.

Jaina shook her head and stared at the navicomputer, as if it might tell her what she should do with herself.

"Are you up for flying?" Jaina asked.

"If I have to," Nelani replied hesitantly. "I'd rather not…"

"I want you to take Tahiri's ship," Jaina cut her off. "We'll go back to Master Skywalker, but I don't want to leave a good ship behind."

"What if they're still here somewhere?"

"What do you feel?" Jaina asked with more pain leaking through her shield than she had hoped. "Are they still here?"

Nelani looked down at her feet for a moment. "I'll go get the precheck done."

"We'll go to Bastion," Jaina said. "Maybe Uncle Luke will know what to do. Captain, can you…captain?"

"What?" Reg looked at Jaina distractedly. "Sorry, this ship…"

"Familiar?"

"Nah, probably not," Reg dismissed her suspicions out of hand and shook his head. "Take the blond to Bastion when she's happy; got it. Then do I get paid?"

"Yeah," Jaina said softly. "Then you get paid."

* * *

Three hours after the meeting with Bror Jace, an aide of his appeared at Luke's new quarters out of breath and full of worry. The Jedi Master offered to let him in, but he gave Luke a holochip and disappeared. Luke activated the recording and was greeted by a miniature version of Jace.

"Luke, they're coming for you again," the miniature Jace said hurriedly. "The ruling families made a deal with the Sith, and part of that deal is taking you out. You were right - they didn't want you here to patch things up; they wanted to kill you from the start.

"Look, they forced my father's hand. We have to comply with the Sith rule, or they'll… I'm sure you can figure it out. We'll play along and do what we can for you."

The image changed to a holo of the city and a blinking light indicated Luke's position. A line drew itself to a place on the outskirts of the city.

"I had the _Falcon_ moved last night, so it should be safe. Assassins are already on the way. I don't expect your trip to be easy, but I know you'll make it. Destroy this recording and get over there. And, Luke, my family was tasked with your assassination. My cousin is leading the task force. Please be careful. May the Force be with you."

Even before the recording stopped, Luke activated his lightsaber for the second it took for him to drop the holocube onto the blade, incinerating it with a small puff of acrid smoke. He was sure the assassins would be coming in the usual ways – from all sides, which left out using the front door. He walked to the balcony and proceeded outside, looking down at the city some thirty storeys below. A noise above him caught his attention and he looked up to see a black armour-clad assassin drawing his blaster, rappelling from the roof of the building by a tether. Three others were flanking him and were doing likewise.

A graceful back flip carried Luke over the railing and he dropped toward the ground below. He narrowed his profile to build up as much speed as possible, waiting to flip over at the last second and use the Force to cushion his fall. The force of his stop created a small crater in the pavement below, startling pedestrians all around him. However, the fall did not stop him. He immediately sprung up through a front flip and used his momentum to sprint down the ped-walk at top speed, using the Force to enhance his run. Rather than try recalling the path Jace had given him, Luke let the Force guide him through the twisting streets and alley ways across the city for his escape.

* * *

The _Jade Shadow_ broke through the atmosphere on one repaired engine and the pleading hope of the four occupants. While the Chiss repair job was better than Mara had expected, her ship still required some down time in a repair bay before it could operate at Mara's expected standards. At least the hyperdrive was undamaged and power was flowing to it.

"Csilla, or Bastion?"

Leia looked up at her sister-in-law and seriously considered the question. Before now, the intent had always been to continue along to the Chiss. With Drathan aboard, she was starting to reconsider.

"If I may offer a suggestion," Drathan said with a gentle smile. "The Chiss may not look too kindly upon you if I am with you. You wanted me to come along, but taking me to the Chiss home world may be a grave mistake to any future relations you wish to uphold."

"We'd better pick fast," Danni said, looking up from the sensor suite. "The Mandalorians found us."

"Mandalorian fighters inbound," Mara said calmly, turning the ship away from the oncoming fleet and easing the throttle as high as she dared. "ETA: 2 minutes, and we won't last long."

"It'll take twice that long for the navicomputer to make the calculations," Leia said, frantically choosing a destination that was not _here_. "This place is a maze of gravity wells."

Seemingly disinterested in the upcoming end of their existences, Drathan placed a hand on Danni's shoulder, drawing her attention away from the sensors.

"These are the Mandalorians you told me about?" Drathan asked. "The ones who are being misled by the Sith?"

"Yes," Danni said, utterly confused as Drathan leaned closer to one of the displays. "But…"

"Magnify," Drathan requested. "I would like to see the designs of the hull markings on the capital ship."

Danni did as requested, trying to keep her attention focused on both Mara's demands for updates and what the old man was trying to do.

"I see," Drathan finally said. "Please stop the ship, power down the engines, and open hailing frequencies."

"What?" Mara demanded. "I didn't realize the Chiss could reduce themselves to throwing insults before they died."

"Hardly, Master Jade," Drathan said. "You will have to trust me on this."

Danni looked to Leia helplessly, and Leia shrugged.

"Do it, Mara. We can't outrun them anyway."

Regretfully, Mara powered down the ship and turned to face the oncoming enemy. Better to die facing the enemy than running from it.

"Hailing frequencies open," Danni finally said, toggling the switch.

"Proud Mandalorians, what fools you have become," Drathan announced. "There was a time when Mandalorian people were the greatest warriors among the stars. Even the Chiss know tales of how great you once were. We looked to your steadfast resolve, your unwavering devotion to battle, and your _independence_ to all but your ideals. Lost among you is all that once made the Mandalorians great.

"Puppets can not be warriors. Anyone can kill, can destroy, but only _real_ Mandalorians can carry the pride and honour of true warriors."

The first wave of fighters entered firing distance, but did not open fire.

"You hunt the Jedi, but do you know why? Is it for the challenge of the hunt? Or do you hunt the Jedi because your Sith taskmasters have more control over you than yourselves?

"What do you see when you look in a mirror? Are you warriors, or are you puppets?"

The fighters flew past the _Jade Shadow_ without firing, and circled around in a slow arc.

"Jedi vessel, this is Alor Adenn of the command ship _Ecaata_," A gruff voice echoed through the comm. "What lies do you speak?"

"Lies would not echo within your heart as true, Alor," Drathan replied.

A few minutes of tense silence ended with the fighters falling into place beside the _Jade Shadow._

"My fighters will escort you to my hanger bay," Adeen finally said. "We have much to discuss."

Danni deactivated the comm and turned to Drathan.

"How did you know?"

"The inscription on the hull is 'Ecaata,'" Drathan replied, pointing at the display of the ship. "Ecaata is an ancient Mandalorian word meaning 'Honour in death before shame.' Normally Mandalorians Alors name their ships with fear-inspiring words like Jaro, Jehavey'ir, Orar, or Dawoor, but this captain, _he_ decided to choose a name for his ship with a reference to a time period that very few would understand. I think this will be a very interesting conversation."


	14. 5 Days

**5 Days...**

_Holonet Galactic News Summary with Tyshria Valck_

"Good day fellow sentients.

"An attempt to claim the bounty on Jedi Master Luke Skywalker by Thyferran nobles has resulted in the death of several younger members of the noble families. Thyferra has subsequently rejoined the Galactic Alliance, however several more planets have withdrawn their support in favour of the Jedi.

"Outrage over the Jedi Master's actions in the slaughter as he escaped Thyferra has prompted the doubling of his bounty to match his nephew's at one hundred million credits. Luke Skywalker was once known as a kind farmboy from Tattoine who rose to fame by destroying the first Death Star and ending the reign of the Emperor, but has since drawn an army around himself and declared himself leader of a new alliance, backed most strongly by the remains of the Empire he once swore to destroy.

"A closed session of the senate is scheduled for tomorrow, in which the senate is expected to discuss strategies against the growing Jedi forces."

* * *

A small service shuttle dropped out of hyperspace as planned. The command crew transmitted the proper authentication codes and followed the correct path toward the hanger bay of one of the largest ships ever constructed in the galaxy, docking as service shuttles normally docked in a hanger two-thirds down the length of the ship.

If the Mandalorians had any indication of what was to come, it might have been the unnoticed and hastily drawn Ewok face painted below the cockpit window with "Lt. Kettch" written underneath.

* * *

Jacen awoke with the taste of bacta in his mouth and the sight of a calming light green ceiling staring back at him. He felt utterly exhausted, and naturally pulled the Force into himself to bolster himself as he had grown accustomed to doing. But something was different. He jolted up with a start and tore open the hospital gown he was wearing to see a fresh pink patch on his chest where the telltale scar from the Sith amulet once dug its way through his flesh was. He reached into the Force, but could no longer detect the amulet.

"Jacen?" Tenel Ka came to his side and pulled him into a strong one-armed hug. "How do you feel?"

"I…I'm at a bit of a loss of words," Jacen replied, simply hugging her back. Tears of joy ran down his face as he realized his new found freedom from the amulet and took in the warmth of Tenel Ka's embrace. "What happened?'

Tenel Ka finally released him and sat down on the bed beside him. She looked at him and recomposed herself to hide one of her rare smiles, which he was more than happy to return.

"Several days ago Augber and his mother poisoned me to take control of the Consortium," she explained. "Alone, they could not do it because they are not in the royal bloodline, so they enlisted the help of the Sith to control me. I was...thank you for saving me, my friend. You seem to be doing this quite often."

"Any time," Jacen smiled back at her, sensing the smile in the emotions she shared with him that was hidden from her face. "How long have I been out?"

"Nearly a day and a half," Tenel Ka responded. "The doctor said you were merely sleeping after we removed you from the bacta tank. We woke you to ensure you are well, but I fear this may not have been wise."

"What hit me?"

Tenel Ka extracted a nasty looking blaster from his bedside table.

"An illegal experimental phased-particle blaster," She responded. "The technology is very expensive, and very destructive. We do not know how you survived. I took this blaster from Augber's mother after she fired the shot. The serum you constructed was very efficient."

"Please thank her for me," Jacen said, not yet ready to ease his friend's confusion with an explanation. "I need to return to the Jedi. Master Skywalker will want to talk to me."

"You are still exhausted," Tenel Ka pushed his chest to force him back to rest, but Jacen drew on the Force to resist.

"I can't stay," Jacen leaned forward and pulled her elbow down to force her into a hug. "I want to, but I can't."

"You are always leaving," She whispered softly into his ear.

Jacen pulled away from her hug and reached up to pull her close for a kiss. He broke the kiss and looked into her sad green eyes.

"I'll always come back for you. I promise."

* * *

The loading ramp on the service shuttle lowered to reveal people wearing identical outfits both on the shuttle and in the hanger bay. A man with a scheduling datapad waited for the new workers to disembark, barely interested in any fact other than that he had new crew members.

"Hurry up, will ya? This ship won't finish itself!"

A bald man with a nasty scar on his face walked up to the impatient Mandalorian and introduced himself as the pilot.

"That's wonderful," The scheduler said sarcastically. "And I'm Mandalore. Get yer crew to deck eighty-nine and help install the 'freshers."

"I was thinking more along the lines of installing blaster bolts," the scarred pilot said. "Into your chest."

He whipped out a blaster with blinding speed and fired a blue stun bolt at point-blank range. He turned back to his people and they immediately broke into pre-determined teams to ready their equipment. Rather than issuing orders, Face Loran walked up to Octa Ramis and her apprentice Hedda.

"Ready?" Face asked.

"Ready," Octa confirmed. "Move out."

Wraiths paired up with Jedi teams and departed for their pre-determined destinations. Face could not help but snicker when he saw Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin extract two huge fuel pods from the shuttle using the Force and follow Baljos Arnjak out the hanger door. Elassar Targon marched up to Face with Kirana Ti and Sanola Ti in tow and struck a heroic pose.

"According to our information, the command deck is about seven kilometres –" Elassar pointed roughly up and toward the front of the ship, making a Z shape with his arm as he flexed his bicep. "- that way."

"We need to get into position before Baljos is ready." Face said, ignoring the posing pilot. "Let's run."

* * *

Octa Ramis watched Face, Baljos, and the two Dathomirians run out of the hanger bay and turned back to her team. She gestured to Tyria Sarken, Hedda, and Bhindi Drayson to follow her as she made her way to the nearest transit module. Despite the ship's near-completion, it was virtually abandoned for the size of it. Their intelligence appeared to be accurate in that the crew of nearly half a million Mandalorians had not yet arrived. When they arrived at the transit module, Bhindi plugged a datapad into the computer system and accessed the ship schematics while the Jedi stood guard, lightsabers ready to grab inside their disguises. She quickly hacked through the safeguards and performed a search through the maintenance/repair system to locate the central data core.

"Got it," Bhindi told the Jedi, and they finally entered the transit module.

* * *

The final team of Wraiths and Jedi departed in the opposite direction of the other teams, heading toward the back of the massive Mandalorian ship rather than the front. Wraiths Kel Tainer, Sharr Latt, and Dia Passik were tasked with taking and holding the engineering area of the ship along with Jedi Alema Rar, Valin Horn, and Kel's son Doran Tainer. Tyria and Kel had argued at length about who should accompany their son, now twenty-one years old, and in the end Octa and Face decided for them based on the need for Jedi in each sub-mission.

Seeing as the massive engines needed to move the enormous vessel extended deep into the ship, Kel's group did not have to travel far to reach the engineering control section.

"Stop," Alema ordered as they approached their target section. "I sense a lot of activity in there."

Kel looked around and hit a button on a panel next to a door to a room across the hall. The door slid open easily, revealing a large unfurnished room.

"We'll wait here for Baljos's team to do their bit," Kel said. "Doran, send the signal. Everyone else break out the masks and ready your weapons. As soon as we get the signal, we'll rush in, Jedi first."

* * *

"Captain, I am reading several anomalies in communication frequencies."

"Run a diagnostic. That system has been acting funny all week."

"I just did. It's working fine."

"It's probably some bored worker playing with a comlink. Forget about it."

* * *

Face looked back at his team and sighed. Hiding just outside the command centre, they were waiting for the signal from the other teams to rush in and secure the area. The Jedi in his group said they could only sense five crew members in the bridge, but any one of them could lock down the ship if anything went wrong. Thankfully, they were not wearing their Mandalorian armour, which would make shooting them much easier.

"That was Kel's team," Kirana Ti spoke in a low voice. "They should be in position now."

"Baljos's team just reported in," Sanola Ti whispered after she detected a series of comlink clicks. "They have arrived, but they hit a snag."

"Not good," Face whispered. Baljos's team was the lynchpin of the operation. Without the contents of the fuel canisters, they might as well return to their Ewok-face sporting shuttle and go home.

Minutes crept by slowly as they waited anxiously for something to happen. Elasser nearly jumped when the next set of clicks came across the comlink, signalling Bhindi's team had reached the computer core.

_Come on, Baljos,_ Face thought to himself.

"Face!" Kirana Ti whispered, startling everyone. She pointed down the hall. "Guards!"

"Hide your weapons!"

Face turned around and pulled a cover panel off the wall. He pulled out a datapad from his equipment bag and various other tools. He shoved a tool into each of the Jedi's hands and pushed them to their knees in front of the open access point, where they pretended to be working on something. Face and Elassar pretended to be supervising the 'work' and offered suggestions about what they were doing.

"What's going on here?" A deep metallic voice came from behind them, interrupting their 'progress.' The troops Kirana Ti had sensed had arrived, and unlike the bridge crew these ones were wearing full battle armour. "This area of the ship is secure from work details."

"This plasma conduit is leaking again," Face explained. "It might have to be replaced."

"That's a power coupling, not a plasma conduit," The trooper said. "What work detail are you on?"

"Umm...The WraithJediyouregonnadie Detail," Face said. Kirana Ti and Sanola Ti's lightsabers appeared out of nowhere and bisected the first two guards, slicing through their armour before they could raise their weapons. Face and Elassar sprinted into the command room and fired their blasters at the unsuspecting command crew while the Jedi took care of the troops outside. Caught unaware, the command crew barely had time to reach for their weapons before they were shot by the two Wraiths.

"That's it?" Elassar asked as he cleared the pilot seat and sat down to analyse the controls. "And I was hoping to get shot at on this mission."

"Give me your blaster and I'll be more than happy to accommodate," Kirana Ti offered as she passed by him and threw the captain's body out of the chair with one strong arm. She dropped into the command chair and analysed the displays built into the chair arms for a moment. "Sensors indicate there are seventeen parties traveling the hallways, likely guards, and life forms scattered throughout the ship."

"I just got the signal from Baljos," Sanola Ti announced. "They're ready."

"Masks on," Face ordered, returning from the hallway with the equipment bag. He tossed rebreathers to his people before putting his own on. "It's sleepy time."

* * *

Bhindi worked frantically on the Mandalorian computer core isolating command pathways and reprogramming them to accept the pre-constructed core command routines she had made using a hybrid of the modified-GA routines the Jedi fleet now used and programming from captured Mandalorian ships.

"What's taking so long?" Octa hissed.

"I have to replace each cluster individually," Bhindi replied with a healthy dose of annoyance. "There, I finished the environmental system hack. Send the signal to Baljos. Masks on!"

* * *

"Ready?" Baljos asked the Jedi, breaking comm. silence for the one aspect of the mission for which it was allowed. In a few moments, it would not matter anyway.

"Ready," Jaden's voice responded. Jaden had taken one canister to the forward section of the ship, where the primary environmental processing station was located. Rosh was tasked with hooking his canister up to the secondary station near the back end of the ship.

"Good to go," Rosh replied after a few moments.

Baljos adjusted his rebreather mask and input his access code into the computer. Thanks to Bhindi's work, he was greeted with the primary environmental control system, and was able to activate the "Environmental Purge" administrative option that would simultaneously flush the entire ship's air supply with fresh oxygen. Or, in this case, several tonnes of coma gas tied into the oxygen supply thanks to two Jedi and a couple of modified fuel canisters.

Baljos clicked a sequence into his comlink and entered the final command code to approve the air flush.

* * *

Kel's comlink clicked in a sequence and he nodded to the others.

"Go!" He ordered, and the Jedi burst out of the room with the Wraiths following close behind. They sprinted into the engineering deck with lightsabers and blasters ready to face several dozen Mandalorian troopers in the middle of a repair protocol training seminar. All of the troops were fully armoured, save their helmets. Within seconds of seeing the lightsabers, the well-trained Mandalorians scrambled for their weapons and had all six intruders safely within their sights.

* * *

Kirana Ti and Face watched the sensors as blips changed from green to red, indicating the coma gas had rendered the crew member unconscious. Amid a growing sea of red dots, there were several groups of green moving around the ship.

"Those would be armoured security squads," Kirana Ti said. "They likely sealed their armour when the others fell unconscious."

"And they'll be hunting us pretty quickly," Face said anxiously. "Sanola Ti, do we have access to the communication system yet?"

Sanola Ti crossed the command deck and found the appropriate station. She entered the access code she was given from Bhindi.

"Yes, sir."

"Jam any communications inside the ship, all frequencies," Face ordered.

"That'll leave us jammed as well!" Elassar exclaimed. "That _can't_ be good luck!"

"Yes, but not without communication," Face said, and turned to Kirana Ti. "I trust you can contact the other Jedi?"

"Yes, but it is not like talking," Kirana Ti confirmed. "I will do what I can."

"Tell Korr and Penin to start hunting Mandalorians. Lead them using the sensors if you can," Face ordered. "Check with Octa to see how far along Bhindi is and when we can get weapons, internal defenses, and engine controls. Finally, get Baljos up here to help us. And if Alema's group is done securing the engine room, they can join the Mandalorian hunt."

Kirana Ti looked at Face in disbelief.

"Too much?"

"Do I look like a holocam?"

* * *

"Stay where you are, Jedi!"

Alema Rar eyed the Mandalorians around her to assess her chances of survival. While she was confident of her own ability to survive a confrontation, she was less than optimistic about the survival of her team members.

"Why don't you stay where _you _are?" Kel responded.

"What?" A Mandalorian asked.

"Well, if we have to stay here, you should too," Sharr argued.

"This isn't a debate," The Mando said. "Move and we'll shoot. And remove those rebreather masks."

"You remove yours first!" Sharr commanded. "We like ours."

"We're not wearing any!"

"But it's the new fashion!"

A second later, the Mandalorians collapsed in unison as the coma gas took over.

"Idiots," Sharr muttered.

"Good work, Sharr," Kel complimented. "Jedi, secure the area. Wraiths, secure the engines."

* * *

The shipyard offices, located at the very peak of the massive claw-shaped mobile shipyard that the _Kandosii Gra'tua_ was built with, were seldom used except by one individual. This one individual was tasked with ensuring the shipyard was placed over the correct area of the massive new Mandalorian ship as it was being built, and relaying progress reports to Mandalore. With the outside of the ship completed, the shipyard was holding onto the ship for energy conservation reasons only.

"A new batch of workers arrived today, so our progress should improve, Mandalore."

"Good. See to it that the ship is deployed within the week. We need it on the front lines."

"Yes, Mandalore."

A slight shaking distracted the supervisor.

"What was that?" Mandalore asked.

"I am unsure," The supervisor said, checking his displays. "I am reading..."

The entire shipyard shook again, this time much harder.

"The ship is attacking the shipyard!"

"How is this possible?" Mandalore demanded.

A brief flash of fire and static was all the answer Mandalore received.

* * *

Admiral Antilles paced the command deck of his flagship, checking his chrono for the tenth time in half as many minutes. Face was far from late, but the anxiety of the mission had Wedge wound up so tight he could hardly sit still for more than a minute. After years of being on the front lines running operations himself, he could still not get used to being the guy who told other people what to do. Even the bridge crew was suffering from his anxiety, waiting for something – anything – to happen to distract them.

"Status on the fleet?" Wedge asked nobody in particular.

"All ships fully alert and standing by for your orders, sir," A communications officer replied.

"ETA?"

"Twenty two minutes, sir."

Out of nowhere, a ship dropped out of hyperspace exactly on the spot it had been expected.

"Hail them!" Wedge exclaimed with a grin larger than the ship before him.

"Receiving a hail from an...umm…Admiral Face Loran of...Sir, did you give permission to rename the ship?"

"Put him through," Wedge groaned.

"This is Admiral Face Loran of the _Screaming Ewok_," a bald head on Wedge's display screen stated. "Stand down and prepare to board us."

"Face, I specifically told you _not_ to rename it!" Wedge sighed.

"That's what the Mandalorians called it. _Kandosii Gra'tua_ translates to _Screaming Ewok_, doesn't it?"

"Somehow I doubt that," Wedge said. "Status?"

"The Jedi are cleaning up a few Mandos, but otherwise everything went according to plan," Face said. "The ship is ours, spare refresher seats included."

"I look forward to your full report," Wedge said. "Congratulate your team for me on a job well done. I'm on my way over with the engineering and security teams. Wedge, out."

* * *

Like most Imperial captains, Captain Amada was often found peering out the front viewport of the bridge of his Mark II Imperial Star Destroyer. Hyperspace did not offer him much of a view except for the mottled blue and black tunnel surrounding the giant white triangular hull of his ship, but Amada found it relaxing to watch the beauty of hyperspace unravel before him.

"Captain," Luke Skywalker greeted as he stepped up beside the grey-uniformed Imperial.

"Master Skywalker," Amada responded. "We should be arriving at Bandomeer shortly."

"We're making good time then," Luke acknowledged. "I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you personally for bringing me to Thyferra. I'm sure there are a hundred other things we could be using a Star Destroyer for right now."

"Orders are orders," Amada said dutifully. "And the safety of our leader is important to us all."

"Captain," the navigator called from the operations pit. "We are nearing the hyperspace drop-out point."

"Very well," Amada replied without turning around. "Disengage the hyperdrive and begin calculating the jump along the Braxant Run toward Bastion."

Captain and Jedi watched as the mottled blue and black disappeared, replaced by stars that went from lines to dots and to a fleet of ships.

"Raise shields, arm all turbolaser and ion cannons!" Amada shouted, immediately recognizing the lead ship as a Mandalorian cruiser. The crew quickly responded and the shields came up just in time to intercept the first volley of torpedoes.

"Return fire," Amada ordered. "Focus all fire power on one support vessel at a time. Stagger volleys of torpedoes and missiles with blaster fire."

"Forward shields holding at sixty-five percent."

"Sir, two squadrons of Mandalorian bombers incoming!"

"Concentrate all laser cannons and missiles on those bombers. Turbolasers and ion cannons continue firing at the support craft. Reinforce forward shields with auxiliary power."

One of the Mandalorian ships exploded, followed by a second, but the fleet kept plodding closer.

"Navicomputer is having trouble fixing on the coordinates. Estimate five minutes."

"With those ships pounding on us, we won't last five minutes!" The captain shouted back. "Do the calculations manually if you have to!"

"Do you have any fighters with hyperdrive," Luke asked. "I can take a squadron out to buy you some time."

"One squad of upgraded Defenders," Amada said. "But I can't let you out there. My job is to protect you."

"Captain, I doubt you have many pilots better than me aboard," Luke said, slightly leaning onto the captain's mind with the Force. "You _need_ me out there."

"Yes, yes, go!" Amada said. "Prepare the defender squad to launch with a new squad leader."

Luke sprinted out of the bridge and through a half-closed turbolift door so fast the safety sensor did not detect him passing through. He pressed the button for the hanger deck and the turbolift took off in that direction. A minute later Luke arrived to find the squadron prepped and ready to go.

"Master Skywalker, you're taking the lead," A technician said as they approached his TIE Defender. "Be careful with the Defender. She's fast and heavily armed, but large for a starfighter."

"Thanks, I've flown one before," Luke said, taking the distinctive TIE pilot helmet and rebreather module and putting them on.

"Wait, you need a pressure suit," The technician said as Luke started climbing into the cockpit.

"No time," Luke said. "I don't plan on spacewalking."

He slammed the cockpit hatch shut and flicked on the communication system.

"All defenders report in."

The pilots called in with typical Imperial efficiency and Luke authorized the launch. Twenty seconds later they were in formation in open space. The Mandalorian command ship finally moved within range of all of the Star Destroyer's weapons, and the two ships were engaged in a slugging match while the Mandalorian support craft and bombers picked away at the peripheries of the giant triangle.

"Flight leads, report in," Luke called.

"Dee-Five."

"Dee-Nine."

"Five, take Flight Two after the bombers harassing the engines. Nine, take Flight Three after the ones pounding at the bridge. Flight One; you're with me on the big ship."

Two-thirds of the Defenders peeled off and Luke angled toward the Mandalorian command ship. He flipped to the command frequency for the Star Destroyer.

"Amada, Skywalker here," Luke called. "Send me telemetry on their bridge, power generators, and hanger bay."

A few moments later data came across to his HUD and he adjusted his course slightly.

"Flight One, stay with me in formation," Luke ordered. "Things will get crazy, but trust me on this. We'll strafe this freighter first. Arm torpedoes."

"Sir, recommend beam weapons as well," One of Luke's pilots offered.

"Beam weapon?"

"New one," he explained. "Shield leacher. It'll poke holes in their shields."

"Focus on these coordinates," Luke ordered. He flipped the switch marked Beam Weapon and felt a noticeable decrease in engine performance as a deep humming sound began to emit from under his seat. Sensors showed a hole forming in the shields, and each fighter fired two torpedoes each. The torpedoes crashed through the hull of the Mandalorian freighter, shattering it into a ball of fire.

"Good call," Luke said. "Follow me in."

Luke deactivated the beam weapon and used the jolt of speed to throw off the Mandalorian fighters taking pot-shots at him. They flew toward the Mandalorian command ship's hanger bay, corkscrewing and twisting through space to avoid the laser cannons. Just before they arrived at the hanger bay, the combined fire of three laser cannons caught one of Luke's pilots and sent the ship tumbling away. Several more blaster bolts exploded the fighter.

"Keep sharp," Luke ordered. "We're going in fast and braking hard."

Luke and the remaining two pilots entered the hanger bay and stopped their fighters with reverse thrust. Luke called up the coordinates of the power plant and fed them to his flight. It was nearly half a kilometre into the ship.

"Concentrate fire here," Luke ordered. He oriented his fighter to bring the targeting bracket to the middle of his HUD and pulled the trigger. His laser cannons blasted a hole through the wall easily, and combined with the other two fighters, they started burrowing a tunnel through the ship.

"Keep on target," Luke advised. He noticed several Mandalorians running to the starfighters below. "Transfer engine power to shields and weapons to keep your recharge rates up. We have ground targets."

Luke twisted his ship around and started blasting the unmanned fighters with his laser cannons. The exploding fuel rocked the three starfighters, but they continued hammering the Mandalorian command ship, slicing through the relatively weak internal structure.

"One, this is Three," One of Luke's pilots commed. "Sensors show we're half way to the power generator."

"Authorized use of one torpedo," Luke advised, still blasting fighters. One Mandalorian had made it to a ship and powered it up before Luke could destroy it. Luke fired with both laser and ion cannons as the starfighter returned fire.

"Three, look out!" Luke called, but it was too late. The Mandalorian crashed into the Defender, creating a massive fireball within the hanger bag. Miraculously, the TIE was still there, firing into the molten tunnel.

"Upgraded shields, sir," Luke heard a level of smugness in the Imperial pilot's voice. "Those Mandos don't know how to make starfighters."

"Skywalker, this is Amada," the Captain's voice filtered over Luke's comm.

"Skywalker here; go ahead."

"We're taking heavy damage," Amada reported. "But our hyperspace calculations complete."

"Jump," Luke ordered. "We'll be right behind you."

"I cannot," an explosion cut off some of Amada's words. "…orders are clear!"

"Jump, now!" Luke shouted. "You can't do any good out there. We'll meet you at Bastion. Skywalker out."

"We're almost through," Three reported. "A couple torps ought to do it."

"Get clear and calculate your jump to Bastion," Luke ordered. "I'll take the shot."

Luke lined up his starfighter while the other two blasted away at full throttle. He gave them a five-count and launched the torpedoes. Without even waiting to see if the torpedoes were on target, which he knew they were, he twisted his starfighter and slammed the throttle to full. Explosions started to rip through the Mandalorian ship even as Luke's defender blasted out the hanger bay.

To Luke's relief, there was no sign of debris that would account for a giant grey triangle.

"Defender Squad, report in."

"Three and Four here," Three called. "We're all that's left. We have Mandalorian fighters inbound. Transferring hyperspace coordinates."

A second later a light blinked on Luke's display indicating the coordinates were received.

"You two jump first," Luke ordered. "I'll follow."

Five seconds later, Luke was safely in hyperspace.

_I'm getting to old for this_. Luke thought. _Oh, shavit. I'm starting to sound like Han._

* * *

The blinking red light on the comm unit caused Soora to twitch the second he saw it in the retreating daylight crawling across the surface of Coruscant. Every report, every message he received over the last few days had reported failure. The only thing he held together was his control over Cal Omas and the Senate. Darth Krak, for all his skill with a lightsaber, had the political and organizational skills of a dead Jawa. His continuous failures were only eclipsed by Darth Trelous's disappearance from Ossus. Urik was about as useless as a neutered nerf, but he had little opportunity to prove his worth as he cowered on Ossus training new Mandalorians.

Soora drank the rest of his Corellian firewhisky and forced himself over to the comm unit.

Kandosii Gra'tua stolen.

"Frak!" Soora screamed and threw his glass across the room where it shattered against the wall. His new command ship, one that would have made Vader's look like a joke, had been taken from the secret dock it was being built.

Soora punched a button to bring up a new message.

"Mandalore, prepare all ships for a full scale assault on the Jedi. Prepare battle plans for all known Jedi targets. Destroy every last Jedi sympathizer if it is the last thing you ever do!"

He punched the button to send the message and staggered back over to his bottle. He looked around momentarily for a glass before deciding he was better off without one. After a few chugs from the bottle, a familiar snap-hiss caught his attention.

"Soora Bulq?"

He swallowed the last of the firewhisky in his mouth. "Who wants to know?"

"Thann Mithric, Jedi Knight."

Soora turned around to find a Falleen male standing at the door with a blue lightsaber.

"Only one Jedi assassin?" Soora snorted. "Hardly a test of my skill."

Thann charged Soora, but his slash was interrupted by a flash of red and a great pain tore into his side. Somehow the Sith Master had dropped the bottle and drew his weapons without Thann realizing it.

"Let me tell you a story, little Jedi," Soora said as Thann dropped his lightsaber and fell to his knees, gasping against the pain. "Once upon a time, the Jedi fought with a lightsaber in honourable combat. They used a single blade. Then war broke out and the Jedi had to become more innovative. Some built a second blade. Others built hilts with blades that came out of both ends."

Soora drew his second blade from the Jedi's side and the dead Falleen collapsed to the ground.

"And the sneaky ones built shorter blades for their off side."


	15. 4 Days

**4 Days...**

The strategic command group of the Jedi Federation meeting started with more members calling in by hologram than actually present in the room that Luke and Pellaeon had called from. Wedge Antilles, Kenth Hamner, Tycho Celchu, Tenel Ka, and the other admirals all called in from their respective command locations across the galaxy.

"Thyferra was a trap," Luke began. "The ruling families wanted to lure me there to capture and deliver me to the Sith. Thankfully, Bror Jace was able to forewarn me and help me escape. The question now is; how do we respond to this threat?"

"Our resources are spread thin," Tycho advised. "We are well positioned to hold our own as it is, but when do they start attacking in force? Every day their recruits get better and ours get bitter. With the Mandos training up their recruits, soon we'll lose our edge of experience."

"We could hit them in some strategic locations," Wedge offered. "Keep hitting them from all sides to weaken them. Raid some supply depots and mine some more shipping lanes with Hapan gravity mines to take resources that can help our cause."

"We need a decisive victory," Pellaeon grunted. "Something more than raids to throw them off balance."

"I want to hit Coruscant," Luke said, drawing several stares. Before anyone could speak, he continued.

"We need to capture Soora and Cal Omas," Luke said. "A stand-off battle in orbit to distract them, and a small strike force on the ground to apprehend them."

The comm system turned everyone's voices to static as they all tried to speak at the same time. Luke held out his hands to gesture for silence.

"I realize this will take a lot of assets – possibly more than we can pull together in a short time – but we have to make a decisive move against them. Every report I have seen has indicated that Bulq is behind this. That without him or his right hand man, Darth Krak, the entire Sith leadership would fall into disarray and without them the Mandalorians would abandon the cause. After Bulq and Krak, there aren't any strong leaders among the Sith. The best and fastest way to end this is by removing Bulq from his position controlling Cal."

A moment of silence followed Luke's words. Finally, Tenel Ka spoke up.

"I'm with Master Skywalker. This must end sooner rather than later."

The rest of the leaders looked at each other's holograms and nodded their agreement.

"Pellaeon, Wedge and I will begin drafting a battle plan," Luke said with an air of finality. "May the Force be with us."

* * *

After traveling several kilometres down the interior track of Pellaeon's Super-class Star Destroyer's main travel conduit from the bridge to the hanger bay only to pick up a datacard he had left on the _Falcon_, Luke had to take the conduit back to the bridge to start drafting the battle plans with Pellaeon after the Council meeting. Several moments after boarding the train, Luke's comlink started bleeping at him.

"Skywalker."

"Luke, we have an interesting situation up here," Pellaeon's voice called. "Please report to the bridge."

"I'm almost there," Luke said as the transit module slowed. About two minutes later he stood beside the old Admiral gazing out at a small fleet that had just entered the system. The newly installed holographic overlay on the main viewport indicated five Mandalorian ships with their weapons and shields deactivated.

"Not much damage for a battle," Luke said, taking note of the green glow overlaying the Mandalorian ships to indicate hull strength.

"There wasn't a battle," Pellaeon said. "They dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the system with their weapons and shields deactivated. The only indication anyone is over there was a request to talk to you. We let them approach this far with a warning not to do anything aggressive."

"Let me talk to them."

Pellaeon turned to a communications specialist and nodded.

"This is Luke Skywalker. Who wishes to speak to me?"

"It's good to hear your voice, Master Skywalker," A familiar, excited young voice replied.

"Danni?" Luke asked. "Why are you on a Mandalorian fleet? Where are Mara and Leia?"

"Oh, they're fine! But we have a lot to talk about," Danni said. "I think I should tell you in person though."

"Danni, this is Gilad," Pellaeon spoke up. "I'm sending a shuttle to pick you up. We'll discuss this when you're aboard."

"Thank you, Admiral. We'll see you shortly."

Luke and Pellaeon exchanged befuddled glances, and started towards the conference room near the hanger.

* * *

The media mob that normally surrounded the Mandalorian senate hoverpod entrance of late seemed to be nearly triple what Soora remembered it to be the day before. A recently report had come out confirming that the death of Thracken Sal-Solo was related to a Mandalorian-issued bounty and that the recordings discovered by the Solo twins were not falsified, despite "Marvis Cree's" continual insistence that they were. Other evidence linking the videos of Jedi assaults on Mandalorian targets to be falsifications had also come to light.

Needless to say, it took all of Soora's self-control to not kill every last reporter shouting questions at him on his way into the hoverpod. He pushed through the crowd and closed the door behind him, taking a moment to enjoy the relative silence granted to him by the sound-proofed door before continuing to his hoverpod.

Just as Soora took his position, again clad in his Mandalorian armour, Cal Omas's platform settled to its normal height within the senate from his office below. To Soora's eyes, Cal looked about as exhausted by the political turn of events as he himself felt.

"This session is closed to the public," Cal stated informally. "Marvis, please come forward and explain your current findings."  
Soora hit the appropriate button and the hover pod took its pre-designated place in front of the Chief's platform.

"Jedi fabrications," Soora said simply, using the Force as much as he could to sway the minds of those present. "It is our word against theirs. Who are you going to believe? The Jedi, who attacked us unprovoked? The Jedi, who are using their mind tricks on our allies, forcing them to abandon our just cause even as we speak?

"This is _exactly_ what the Jedi want!" He shouted. He waited a moment for his words to sink in. "They want to weaken our resolve! They want to strike fear into our hearts and use this opportunity to destroy us!"

Murmurs broke out among the senators.

"Fools!" Soora shouted, silencing the voices. "That is what they think we are! Are we? Are we fools? They want to rule us with their way of life and put us under their Jedi spells. Are we going to stand by and let them ruin our freedom? Destroy our families and homes? Take _democracy_, the very _essence_ of our society, away from us? Is that what we want?"

Soora saw heads shaking across the coliseum.

"We need to strike back!" Soora called out. "The Jedi can no longer take our lives from us. We must show them, once and for all, that _we_ choose the way we live, not them."

Cheers of agreement broke out, finally giving Soora the boost of confidence he needed.

"Chief of State Omas," Soora said bravely. "I hereby submit to the senate a vote for an all-out assault on Jedi-allied targets everywhere. They _must_ be stopped."

* * *

The Coruscant Customs Bureau agent glared at Kyle's recently-shaved face, and back at the forged ID Jan had once made for him, apparently unsure if he was looking at the same person. In preparation of using this particular ID, Kyle had shaved the beard he sported for over thirty years - a considerable feat for someone with only a lightsaber and a vibro-knife to shave with. After departing Krant, Lando had dropped him off at Bothawui before departing for destinations-unknown, presumably to work on whatever that project his wife was working on. Kyle could not tell which he was more upset about; being stuck with Luke's order to recruit Jan Ors on his own, or the miserable-looking CCB agent staring him down.

"I have more ID, if it helps," Kyle offered. In reality, he only had Jedi mind tricks.

"That will not be necessary," the agent said as two black-clad Coruscant Security Force troopers in riot gear approached. He handed Kyle's documentation to one of the CSF troopers. "Please follow these men."

* * *

The conference room Pellaeon selected to debrief Danni in was special in that it was more of an interrogation room. It offered for some people to sit outside the room behind a privacy screen to watch the meeting without being part of it. Pellaeon often used this feature for aides taking notes of meetings and spying on several unassuming people under his command, but, for once, the first part of the meeting took place in the privacy room.

Danni Quee was ushered into the privacy room, not expecting to see the Grand Master or Admiral there.

"Admiral, Master," Danni said. "What's going on?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Luke said. He pointed at the Mandalorian and Chiss occupying the meeting room engrossed in a conversation in the Mandalorian language. "Where are Mara and Leia? And who are these two?"

"They continued to Csilla to finish the mission after the Mandalorians finished some repairs on the _Jade Shadow_," Danni said. "The Chiss is named Drathan. We found him exiled on a planet we crashed on. He used to be the equivalent to our Chief of State for the Chiss people at a time when the ruling families were removed. They picked him because he was a sound strategist, and he even taught at a school for a time."

"Danni, cut to the chase."

"I thought he could replace you!" She blurted to Luke. "Leia told me you don't want to be running this alliance or coalition that you made up, and I think he could replace you."

Luke blinked twice and looked to Pellaeon as if he could not believe his ears. However, he found he still could not believe what was happening.

"He trained Thrawn," Pellaeon said simply. At Luke's befuddled look, he elaborated. "Long ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn once spoke to me of a man he called 'Drathan,' a leader and teacher among the Chiss people. Drathan was the one who eventually recommended exiling Thrawn. Thrawn was disappointed, but he understood that it was Drathan's duty as his teacher."

"You seriously think this is worth considering?"

"Yes," Pellaeon said resolutely without hesitation. "Though it will not be without risk. If the Chiss find out one of their exiles are among us, and hiding the identity of our leader will not be easy, we may lose any chance of ever working with them again."

Luke stepped back and looked through the privacy screen, watching the two men inside chatter away.

"It would make my life easier," Luke said. "How do we know he is trustworthy?"

"Talk to him," Danni urged Luke. "You'll see."

"I will," Luke said. "What about the Mandalorian?"

"Drathan convinced them to switch sides," Danni replied. "He convinced them following the Sith was a futile endeavour and they brought us here. I really don't know how he did it."

"You two wait here," Luke said, finally making up his mind. "I'll talk to him alone."

Luke left the privacy room and requested the Stormtroopers waiting outside the room to escort the Mandalorian to some guest quarters. Once he allowed enough time for them to leave through the other door, Luke entered and sat in the chair the Mandalorian had occupied.

"Master Skywalker," Drathan said in a deep, cultured voice. "Your reputation precedes you. Both my old friend Formbi and Miss Quee have spoken very highly of you."

"And Danni of you," Luke responded. "She seems to think that you would be capable of running our government."

"Forgive me, Master Skywalker," Drathan said. "But you do not run a government. You run a multi-planet rebellion held to the principles and rulings of the Jedi Order. Until you establish a true governing body, you are nothing more than an over-extended religion or band of pirates with a code of ethics."

The description of his 'government' surprised Luke enough that he was momentarily speechless. More surprisingly, Luke could not believe that he agreed with the old Chiss. Drathan sat respectfully silent until Luke spoke again.

"Do you have the experience to construct a government?"

"I resurrected the Chiss ruling council, so, yes."

"Danni tells me you're a master of strategy."

"I have been known to plan ship movements in an effective manner during combat situations."

"Would you be comfortable working with the Jedi Council as we, together, establish a new government? And do you understand that the Jedi follow the established ruling body, not it's leader?"

"Of course."

Luke sat quietly for a moment.

"Want my job?"

"Young Skywalker, I spent the last few years of my life living happily on a secluded planet leading a group of Chiss political exiles through surviving the harsh weather," Drathan said. "In the years before that, I watched what Palpatine did to the galaxy and to the Chiss people. I swore I would never let another Sith do the same if I could help it. I would certainly relish the opportunity to tackle this challenge."

"What about the Chiss?" Luke asked. "Your history with them makes me leery about any potential alliance with them."

"The ruling family will respect any duly appointed envoy sent to them," Drathan said. "They will not hold my exile against me, so long as I do not attempt to rule them. This will exclude them from membership, but the Chiss are wise enough to do what is best for themselves. If they ever seriously considered joining any alliance, the population would riot."

Luke and Drathan both stood up at the same time.

"I'll have to run it by the Jedi Council, but you might be what we've been looking for."

"I'd like to meet this Council if I am to work with them," Drathan said. "But I have a feeling that this arrangement will work out well."

* * *

After being transferred to a secure facility, disarmed, disrobed, and given clothes that would fit a baby Hutt to replace his own, Kyle was pushed unceremoniously into a bright white holding cell that was devoid of anything but a simple metal chair in the middle of the room. After a few moments of tying parts of his new wardrobe together to fit him better and nearly choking on the rank smell of them, the door opened and an angry-looking woman with long brown hair entered.

"Kyle Katarn," she growled. "Of all the low-life slugs that could try to slide their way through my checkpoint, what could possibly inspire you think you are any different?"

Kyle opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

"I find it insulting that you didn't even _try_ to use a Jedi mind trick," she rattled on. "Are you really that full of yourself?"

"Jan, I came here to find you," Kyle finally said.

"And I suppose you want me to join your ill-conceived federation of Jedi worshiping fools?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I'm in." Jan smiled. "But under one condition."

"Name it."

"You protect me," Jan said. "There are too many Sith sneaking around here to defy without a Jedi Master for protection. If you want me, you stay with me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Kyle said sarcastically.

"Great, let's get out of here," Jan said, suddenly serious again.

"Hey, why did you strip search me and lock me in this cell if that's all you wanted?" Kyle demanded.

Jan winked at him playfully. "Why do you think?"

* * *

After some long discussions with the Jedi Council regarding the Chiss known as Drathan, the Jedi Council finally agreed to put a vote to the Jedi Federation members regarding the future leadership. The expectation was that, with Luke backing Drathan, the majority would accept the change in command without trouble.

Luke finally reached the hanger bay on Pellaeon's ship after the long hours of discussion and walked wearily toward where he left the _Millennium Falcon_ earlier that day. On his way he ignored a team of technicians working on a huge, twisted pile of debris that Luke suspected was once a ship, but the lowered boarding ramp on the _Falcon_ caught Luke's attention more than the damaged ship. While he did not sense any danger, he removed his lightsaber from his belt and approached the _Falcon_ carefully. All he needed was someone damaging Han's beloved ship on his watch.

He crept up the ramp and heard the sounds of activity coming from the back end of the ship, so he headed in that direction. Three steps into the ship, his foot hit the side of a toolbox, and Luke sensed the intruder's alert status jump. He rushed forward, saw a flash of a steel rod coming toward him, lit his lightsaber and took a length of pipe off near the intruder's hands. The loose remainder of the pipe continued its momentum, hitting Luke square on the forehead. He staggered back against the bulkhead and held his lightsaber in a defensive position, trusting the Force to guide him while his head recovered.

"Luke?" A familiar voice asked. "What the hell are you doing creeping around on my ship?"

"Han?" Luke asked, finally blinking away the tears from his eyes and seeing his brother-in-law holding a small length of pipe with one end glowing red. "When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago," Han said. "Would you mind turning that thing off? I'm not a tauntaun."

"Sorry." Luke deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt wearily. "Long day."

"I hear ya," Han said knowingly. "Thanks for taking care of the _Falcon_."

"She's a good ship," Luke said. Nostalgia crept into his thoughts as he recounted the many years he had known Han, the many adventures they had on this ship, and how much the Skywalker-Solo family shared together within the bulkheads around them. "You know what they say – you treat a ship like a lady, and she'll take you home every time."

"Yeah, about that," Han said uncomfortably. "Did you see that scrap heap in the hanger bay?"


	16. 3 Days

**A/N: Reposted...forgot page breaks :o)**

* * *

**3 Days...**

Within the newly-constructed Jedi Council hologram chamber on Pellaeon's command ship, the Solo twins debriefed the Council on their mission. Luke, Corran, Lowbacca and Kyp were the only Council members present, while the rest of the members tuned in via holograms from across the galaxy.

"After we dropped Sal-Solo off at Corellia, we both…heard a different call from the Force," Jaina wrapped up her long winded debriefing to the Jedi Council by glaring at her brother. "Jacen took off for Hapes, and Eriana, Nelani, and I sought out Zekk and Saba through our own means, mostly because he left all of us stranded on Corellia. As you know, except for their ships, I found no trace of Zekk, Saba, or their apprentices. I can't help but wonder if we would have found them if we had access to our own ship."

"I did foil a Sith plot to take over the Hapes Consortium," Jacen said through gritted teeth. "Zekk and the others are quite capable of taking care of themselves. I'm sure they're fine. And you found Raynar! Tell me the Force didn't play a part in that one!"

"Thank you, Master and Knight Solo," Corran Horn, recently arrived at the command ship and sitting opposite the room from Luke, said with a condescending air of finality only a parent could master. "We, too, have not heard from them, but we will continue searching. If you could excuse yourselves while we continue our meeting?"

"Yes, Masters," The twins bowed and made their way towards the chamber doors.

"Wait," Luke called after them. They turned around and saw him intently examining a datapad that had a blinking light on the top. "Jacen, there is an incoming transmission addressed to you and the Jedi Council."

Jacen looked around at the puzzled holographic faces of the Council members and walked up beside his uncle with an equally puzzled look. Jaina walked to the opposite side of the room beside Corran as four flat panel holodisplays ascended from the middle of the floor to display the transmission.

"Sekava?" Jacen asked when the image appeared.

"Jacen Solo," Sekava's face appeared, twisted with anger. "And undistinguished Jedi Council members."

"I guess you're not taking up my offer for help," Jacen said sadly.

"No, no, no, my dear Jacen," Sekava said sympathetically. "I want to help _you. _I want to show you what happens when you make mistakes."

"What mistake was that?"

Sekava stepped away from the holocam and manipulated some controls to display a Ysalamiri cage and five people strapped by their wrists and wastes to inclined tables.

"Jysella!" Corran shouted.

"Zekk!" Jaina gasped.

"Saba! Dot!" Luke exclaimed.

"Tahiri," Jacen added sadly. "What do you want, Sekava?"

"Straight to the point," Sekava said approvingly. "I like that. When we fought, you left me with five scars. Now, I will leave you with five."

Realizing what Sekava meant, Jacen's knees almost gave out on him. He grabbed his uncle's shoulder and felt the room spin around him.

"Sekava, no, don't do this," Jacen said. "We can _help_ you!"

"This is your fault!" Sekava shouted. He pointed at Tahiri. "You told this _whelp_ to hide among us! It was _your_ idea for _her_ to betray us!"

A universally recognizable snap-hiss sounded and Sekava held a lightsaber in front of the holocam.

"Do you recognize this?" Sekava asked. "It's the lightsaber you so carelessly threw at me."

Sekava seemed distracted for a moment while muttering something to himself. Then he seemed to notice Jacen's image for the first time and he caught sight of Saba.

"Do you like this lizard?" Sekava asked with a finger pointing at Saba. "I don't."

The holoimage blurred with his motion, and the top of Saba's body fell away from the bottom with the top half of the inclined table.

Gasps of pure shock and disbelief filled the Council Chamber. Even the holograms seemed to emit emotion through the Force.

"Now you know I'm serious," Sekava growled, pointing the lightsaber at the camera. "You played with me, Solo. Now I get to play with you."

"Stop," Jacen choked out. "If you want me, I'll meet you. Let them go. You can have _me_ instead!"

"No," Sekava sneered. "No. I know your type. You can take your own pain. But not theirs. You're not worth to me what they are to you."

He threw the ysalamiri frame away and unleashed a torrent of lightning at the four remaining Jedi, causing them to scream with agony. The louder they screamed, the broader Sekava's grin became, and the more the Council members had to look away. Jacen could not take his eyes off the display. He owed his friends that much. Corran and Jaina also could not look away despite the fact they could no longer see from the tears welling in their eyes.

"Stop!" Jacen shouted.

To everyone's surprise, Sekava did indeed stop. The four remaining Jedi, utterly drained by the electric shock, hung limply on their inclined death beds.

"You dare interrupt me?" Sekava growled. He hoisted his lightsaber and threw it directly at Zekk's heart.

"Jay…tell…Jaina…I…" Zekk's last pained words were drowned out by a flick of Sekava's mind that sent the lighsaber blade up, bisecting his chest and head lengthwise and back to Sekava's hand.

"You don't look too good there, _Solo_," Sekava said with false sincerity and a twisted smile. "Feeling a little alone?"

Jacen had gone white from the feelings not only from his own friendship with Zekk being carelessly destroyed, but from the intense feelings of despair and hollowness his sister felt. Both twins had lost any control they might have over their twin bond, and their feelings were flowing freely between each other, making each of them feel multiple times again what they alone could. Jaina collapsed to the floor and wept bitterly against Corran's leg, but Corran's own horror knowing his daughter was next prevented him from consoling her.

"What's wrong, Solo? Vornskr got your tongue? I'll let you pick. There are three more," Sekava said casually. He flicked his lightsaber at each in turn. "The traitor. The green-eyed Corellian. And this other little one.

"Oh, wait, I lied. I don't like the little one," Sekava said with a hint of false embarrassment. He reached toward Dot Polf with one hand and squeezed. Her entire body compressed at once with a sickening crunch. Tears ran steadily down every Jedi's faces at their own helplessness against the disturbed Sith. Even Master Skywalker was breathing heavily against his emotions, but remained better composed than the other Jedi. Jacen had nearly lost all the strength in his legs and was leaning heavily against his uncle's chair, but still he could not tear his eyes from the holodisplay.

"I suppose you're wondering why these Jedi," Sekava mused as he paced before the holocam. "You see, Solo, I came across a little recording of you and the traitor where you told her about this mission a few Jedi were on. One ysalamiri and a blaster later, and they were all mine to do with as I pleased."

He turned and faced the holocam as Jacen's stomach sunk lower into his chest with every word Sekava said. Worse than the twisted knot in his chest was the disgust and disbelief emanating from the Jedi around him that hit him like the piercing ring of a hammer hitting durasteel. "This is all _your_ fault. It is _your_ mistake. I'm just doing you the tiny little favour of cleaning it all up."

The Sith stumbled for a moment and looked away distractedly. He mumbled something else and finally walked up to Jysella, gently stroking her face with his hand. Jacen sensed a flash of anger and despair from across the room – Corran.

"Such a pretty face," Sekava said. "Oh, well."

He shoved his lightsaber into her side piercing her from her left rib cage and out her back. When her screams died, he deactivated the blade. Her head fell limp to the side and he made a soft clicking sound with his tongue. Corran fell out of his chair and hugged Jaina as they both sobbed unabashedly against each other.

"Now for the traitor," Sekava said. "You're close to this one, aren't you? I kept the best for last."

"Sekava…please…stop…" Jacen pleaded.

"Just remember, Solo," Sekava sneered. "I'm coming for you."

He jabbed the blade into Tahiri's chest down to the hilt. Her screams echoed through the Council chamber and Jacen finally collapsed to his knees. Sekava yanked the lightsaber out horizontally, cutting through her rib cage. He continued his slashing arc and launched the lightsaber at the holocam, killing the feed.

* * *

The _Squawking Mynock_ drifted near one of the moons of Korriban, using a hacked connection to the nearest holonet transmitter to pick up any transmissions that might indicate the location of the crew's target. The _Squawking_ _Mynock_ was a ship that had, up until a week ago, been owned by a Mandalorian Commander Braagan, and had been stocked with various weapons, tools, equipment, and credits that had been siphoned out of the Mandalorian war effort for his own personal gain. Lanos had determined that the ship would be best to take as it would personally insult the idiot Braagan, and that he would not be able to report its loss without admitting he had stolen from his brothers. Also, the ship was large enough for six crew quarters, had a sizable cargo and training area, and was equipped with decent weaponry and defenses.

"This is interesting," Squeak said as he analyzed the signals being sent to his console from the hacked transmitter. The vast majority of what he found were files of personal or commercial importance that did nothing for their search for Jacen Solo, but his search subroutines finally caught something.

"What is it?" Blade asked, looking up from sharpening her beloved sword. After their arrest on the jungle moon, some idiot had nicked the blade, and she had spent almost a week of bitter work trying to repair the damage.

"The crazy Sith kid that Solo beat up," Squeak said. "He's on Korriban, and he just contacted the Jedi Council. Oh, I have a live feed between them! I'd better record his."

Squeak and Blade watched the gruesome video in silence, save the odd instance when Squeak had to look away and force himself to retain his last meal. He had not felt so sick since the slaughter he witnessed at the Black Vornskr base just over a month ago. When the feed ended, they both sat in silence for several moments.

"It's quieter than a morgue in here," Lanos's voice came out of nowhere, startling them. "Did you find something?"

Squeak wordlessly triggered the recording to replay and left the room. A moment later, Parmis and Trigger entered, but Blade left to join Squeak. The three men watched in equal silence as they witnessed the brutal extermination of the Jedi captives.

"Solo might go there to find his friends," Lanos said after a moment of thought. "We should get down there and set a trap. Prepare the anti-Jedi weapons. We can make landfall on Korriban in twenty hours. If Solo is in Imperial space, it'll take him at least twice that to get here, and I really don't want to mess with that Sith psychopath."

* * *

The Jedi Council reconvened after a short recess with all members present except Corran Horn. Corran was excused to be with his family, but the rest of the Jedi knew their responsibilities were to the galaxy before their grief over their friends. Each Jedi silently took their seats in their respective location and appeared as quiet holograms, each trying to see how the others were handling their grief without making it look like they were trying to intrude. Luke used this silence to clear his throat and gather the attention of the Council. He pressed a button and five holograms appeared in the likeness of Gilad Pellaeon, Wedge Antillies, Drathan, Tycho Celchu, and Tenel Ka.

"My friends, it is with great sorrow that the Jedi Council must report the loss of several of our own," Luke started somberly. "Master Saba Seybatine, Jedi Knights Zekk, Tahiri Velia, and Jysella Horn, and Apprentice Dot Polif were lost at the hands of a member of the Sith."

Luke paused for a moment and watched the reactions of the military leaders before him. Drathan bowed his head politely and Pellaeon shook his head sadly, but Wedge, Tycho and Tenel Ka merely stared at Luke with dumbfounded looks of disbelief.

"The Jedi are a family," Luke stood and continued, walking around the circle between the holograms in the centre and his Council members forming a ring around them. "We grow together. We live together. We train, we fight, and we mourn together. The loss of one of us is a loss to all of us. We are here to fight for the liberties of the people we serve and protect those people who cannot protect themselves."

Luke stopped at Corran's empty chair and stared at it sadly for a moment before continuing.

"The Sith are nothing like the Jedi. They fight for personal gain. They use their allies to make themselves stronger. They become powerful to oppress their followers and give them false hopes of greatness while plotting their demise. They would think nothing of ending a life that gives them more of the power they cling so dearly to."

Luke reached his own seat and turned to face everyone. He clasped his hands behind his back, stood tall, and looked at his friends with a fire burning brightly in his eyes.

"It is time we stopped Soora Bulq once and for all," Luke said resolutely. "We must capture him and hold him accountable for the atrocities he has committed in his quest for power. We will not lower ourselves to their level by sending assassins – our goal is to capture their leadership for trial and force the Mandalorians to abandon their fight. It is time to attack Coruscant."

After a moment of silence, Kyp stood.

"I volunteer for the mission to capture Soora," he said. "I have much to make up for."

"I appreciate that, Kyp," Luke said. He walked over and put a hand on Kyp's shoulder. "But I have already picked my strike team. I will be going to Coruscant with Jacen, and Jacen alone. I won't risk any other Jedi in a battle against Bulq."

Before anyone could object, Luke spread his hands palm out to silence the Councillors.

"Drathan, Pellaeon, and Wedge have already drafted battle plans for the assault on Coruscant and have been making preparations," Luke said, absently noting that the admirals seemed engrossed in something outside the realm of their holofeeds. "Their logic is irrefutable, and I have already approved their plans. Wedge will direct you all to your assignments. I suggest you get a good night's rest – we have a lot to do and not much time to do it in."

"We have a problem," Pellaeon interrupted. "I'm getting reports in…Yaga Minor is under attack"

"Same here," Wedge said with a note of panic in his voice. "Oh, shavit…"

"What is it?" Drathan asked.

"Belgaroth is sending out a distress call," Wedge said. He turned away to shout some commands to his crew.

"Mon Calamari and Kashyyyk are under attack," Tycho reported, and disappeared.

Tycho and Wedge disappeared to address the situation, leaving the Jedi Council alone with Drathan, Tenel Ka, and Pellaeon.

"Drathan, if you could assist me in fleet planning, we may yet be able to minimize the damage of these attacks. Luke, I will send you instructions shortly."

The final two non-Jedi holograms disappeared, leaving Luke with the Council members and a lot of worry.

* * *

Aboard the _Solo Quest_, Eriana and Womprat tinkered with the shield generator in sombre silence in an attempt to be both useful and not near anyone. Between her time being imprisoned with the Sith torturing her, the injuries she acquired in her escape, and the overall demoralized feeling that permeated any Jedi within sensing distance, Eriana just wanted to be left alone to heal in her own way. After years aboard the _Solo Quest_ she had learned a great deal about starship repair and maintenance despite never having worked on a starship before joining Jacen on his sojourn through the unknown regions of the Force.

Thankfully Womprat had decided to respect her request for silence and only spoke to her about repairing the ship when he was worried she might cross the wrong wires and create a charred mess of her body that he may need to clean up. Perhaps he felt she did better work when distracted and wanted to take advantage of her mood to improve ship performance, or maybe his programming was as affected by the atmosphere as she was. Either way, Eriana found the solitude she needed.

"I...umm..." A weak voice interrupted Eriana's work, and she found Nelani standing at the door leading into the engineering section of the ship looking rather awkward. "Hi, Eriana."

"Hey," Eriana replied, trying to hide that she was startled. "I'm sorry. Were you here long?"

"It doesn't matter," Nelani said, blinking back tears. "I...I was in my room...crying...I realized...I have no one else..."

Eriana hugged the younger woman and blinked back some of her own tears as Nelani cried uncontrollably for what felt like an eternity.

"How did you know?" Nelani asked when she found her voice, still hugging Eriana desperately. "I could've killed you."

"You might yet with that grip!" Eriana joked, easing Nelani to release her. She guided the troubled young girl to the passenger compartment and brewed them both a cup of tea in the kitchen area. She returned with two mugs, gave one to Nelani, and sat in Jacen's armchair.

"There is a distinctive difference between a Jedi gone astray and a Sith," Eriana reflected, inhaling the sweet aroma of the tea before continuing. "A Sith, or Dark Jedi, doesn't hesitate to take what they want. If you were one of them, and you wanted me dead, you wouldn't have taken the time to tell me you would. You were confused, that was it."

"I'm still confused," Nelani admitted.

"You're not the only one," Eriana said, half to Nelani, half to herself. She drank from her tea as the two women sat in silence, contemplating their futures. After a time, Nelani fell asleep, and Eriana returned to the shield generator, but each found a measure of the solitude they so desperately sought.


	17. 2 Days

**2 Days...**

The gentle trickling of water in Pellaeon's private garden aboard the Super Star Destroyer flag ship that had become the home-away-from-home for the Jedi was just enough to distract Jacen Solo as he sat alone in staring into a waterfall without really seeing it. His mind was so distracted he had not slept all night. He was not hungry, despite the hollow feeling that told him he had run out of food in his stomach long ago. Being in the private garden of his friend granted him the one thing he wanted that he could achieve - not talking to anyone.

He did not even want to exist anymore, but he seemed unable to will that to happen.

After the transmission from Sekava, he had passed out again. They took him to the infirmary where he laid in shock for several hours until he simply got up and walked out without anyone noticing. His feet eventually found their way to this room, where he had spent several hours in silence.

"Are you ever going to leave?" A small voice came from the corner of the room. Jacen blinked his weary eyes and looked around for the voice he was not entirely sure he heard. His cousin, Ben, cautiously appeared from behind one of the waterfalls. "I've been waiting for you to leave."

"Why?" Jacen could think of nothing more to say.

"Dad says I'm not allowed in here," Ben replied. He sat down beside Jacen and looked at the same waterfall he thought his cousin had been looking at. "He says it's a room for grown-ups. I just like coming to see the waterfalls and the flowers. I like this one too; it's my favourite. You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"No," Jacen replied thickly as his throat seemed to tighten on him. He hardly thought his uncle would want to talk to him at all, after what happened.

"Master Lowbacca said something bad happened," Ben said, oblivious to his cousin's mood with childish ignorance. "He said Zekk won't be coming back anymore."

Jacen wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat. He simply shook his head.

"Do you know what happened?" Ben asked. "Nobody tells me anything. I'm just a kid."

Two more fountains started, but Ben was still looking at the permanent ones in the room and did not notice his cousin's face.

"Have..." Jacen choked on his words and coughed. "Have you ever done something really bad, Ben? Something so bad that everyone hates you for it? I thought I knew what I was doing, but I just made a mess of everything. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Dad always tells me the first way to fix things is to know what you did wrong and say you're sorry," Ben replied.

"I wouldn't even know how to apologize," Jacen said. "Some mistakes can't be fixed."

Ben got up and gave his cousin a big hug.

"Some things are just harder to fix than others, Jay," Ben said brightly. "And my dad can always help you. He's a smart guy."

"Yeah," Jacen choked out. "He sure is."

One of the doors opened and a familiar presence entered the room, causing Jacen's heart to sink to somewhere about three kilometres below where he sat.

"Ben, Master Lowbacca is looking for you," Luke Skywalker said. "He's in the hanger bay."

"Sorry, dad!" Ben said and ran to the door before his dad could yell at him for being in the fountain room. He stopped for a second and turned back only long enough to say "I'll see you later, Jacen!"

Jacen pulled his knees up to his chest and put his chin on them as if to prepare for the inevitable disaster that approached. Luke locked the door with an ominous click and took a seat beside Jacen, facing him at ninety degrees.

"You screwed up."

"I know."

"What are you going to do about it?"

A stretch of silence gave Luke all the answer he would receive.

"Do you think you're the only one grieving?"

"No," Jacen responded thickly. "But they didn't get their friends..."

He could not even say it out loud.

"Jacen," Luke said sympathetically, "Everyone is hurting. The Jedi are a family. We're here for each other, and every time we lose someone we all feel it. The best thing you can do is get up and help everyone get past this."

Jacen merely shook his head and put his eyes to his knees. Luke responded by shoving him off the bench with his foot.

"Hey!" Jacen exclaimed when he hit the ground after scraping his back along the bench on his way down. "What was that for?"

"You looked like you could use a wake up call," Luke responded viciously. "Now get up and start being the Jedi you've been pretending to be."

"Pretending?" Jacen screamed. "I've been _doing_! I made a decision! I went for Tenel Ka instead of listening to Jaina! And I killed two of my best friends because of it! Don't you _dare_ tell me how to act after making a decision you would've made for Mara."

"You didn't do the Jedi thing, Jacen," Luke sneered. "Jaina told me what happened. You were _jealous _and you were _angry. _Your _arrogance_ took over, and now you're paying the price. What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know!" Jacen shouted.

Luke responded by telekinetically picking his nephew up and slamming him face first into the rock face of the nearest waterfall. He tumbled into the collection pool below and came up sputtering. Another telekinetic gesture sent him soaring across the room and against the far wall.

"You're weak, Jacen. You always think you're better than everyone. You think your grief is bigger than anyone else's."

"I don't need this," Jacen sneered and made for the door, but another telekinetic shove sent him sprawling to the ground face first. Before he realized what happened, he was again slammed against another rock face, sputtering against the waterfalls pouring across his face. A few moments later he dropped into the collection pool at the bottom and he frantically pulled himself up again, coughing the water out of his lungs.

"You're wrong again," Luke responded. "At the rate you're going, I might have to consider you a lost cause. Even Kyp is showing more promise than you."

Jacen leapt from the pool and lit his lightsaber in mid-air, charging at his uncle with an overhead slash. Luke easily side stepped the attack and tripped Jacen's feet out from under him, sending the younger man sprawling.

"I thought you were good at this with your fancy Vaapad _poodoo_ you learned," Luke taunted as Jacen lifted himself from the floor. "Ben could've dodged that one."

Jacen attacked with a blind fury of attacks, forcing Luke to draw his lightsaber and meet with an equally intense defense. Luke saw an opening and slapped Jacen's ear with a disorienting pop, sending his nephew tumbling across the benches and pillows in his path.

"What are you going to _do_, Jacen?

"I'll leave!" He shouted back, oblivious to the blood pouring from several cuts on his face. "I'll leave your kriffin' Jedi Order! Leave you and your idiots behind to kill yourselves without my help! Isn't that what you want? Me gone so you can run your little empire?"

"You coward," Luke said with pure contempt. He twisted the lightsaber out of Jacen's hand and slammed him up against the ceiling and let him drop to the ground again. "Only a coward runs from his responsibilities."

A torrent of lightning caught Luke off guard and knocked him stumbling back about two metres before he brought up his lightsaber and hand in defense. Both Jedi engaged in a battle of wills, pitting Jacen's rage against Luke's masterful stubbornness.

"Is that the best you can come up with?" Luke taunted. "You don't even know what you want! How can you help others when you're sulking in here like a child? All that time you spent running around made you forget who you are!"

Lightning sparked off Luke's defense and coursed around the room, blasting chunks of rock and tile off the walls and exploding meditation pillows into charred remains of stuffing and fabric.

"How can you expect to face an enemy when you can't even face yourself?"

Jacen redoubled his efforts, but Luke expected it and easily countered. Luke assaulted Jacen with a stone bench and other objects, weakening the younger man's concentration.

"I thought you were strong!" Luke shouted. "You came here all high and mighty telling us you knew best, but you're nothing but a self-centred brat!"

Exhaustion finally took its toll on Jacen and he collapsed.

Luke approached his nephew cautiously, and sensed he truly was unconscious. He picked Jacen up with one hand and the help of the Force. He dunked Jacen's head into the closest collection pool until he sensed Jacen awaken. He yanked Jacen out, and dragged the sputtering man onto a bench to catch his breath. It took him a moment to realize Jacen had started crying.

"I, I, I can't do it Uncle Luke," Jacen said between sobs. "I let them d-down. Can't do t-that again!"

"Jacen, when I was in the Rebellion, we lost a lot of good people," Luke said solemnly, blinking back tears at the memories as he took a seat on the same bench his nephew was leaning against. "Obi-Wan, Biggs, Dak… The list is as long as it is painful. Some died because the Empire killed them. Others sacrificed themselves so the rest of us could live. But the all gave their lives so the rest of us could be free from the Empire. There's always a higher purpose we have to fight for, even when we want to give up. And there were times we have _all_ wanted to give up, but the most important thing was that we kept fighting."

"But Tahiri…Zekk…that was to p-punish _me_," Jacen protested. "They didn't d-die for ideals…they're gone because I made a m-mistake."

"Yes," Luke agreed. He looked down at his artificial right hand and clenched it. Nearly-silent servomotors spoke to him, reminding of a critical mistake he once made and the painful lessons he learned from it. "Nothing will make you forget that, Jacen. It is one of the hardest lessons to learn. One I hope you won't have to learn again."

No words were spoken for a few moments while Luke stared at his replacement hand and Jacen's sobs slowed.

"What now?" Jacen asked.

"You have a decision to make," Luke responded, looking at his nephew. "I need help taking Soora down. I can't do it alone, but together we can. You're the only other Jedi who can survive that fight, and that assumes I can."

"I don't think…"

"It's time you started doing just that." Luke stood up. "Make a decision. Either you're a Jedi, or you're not. You're either welcome here as a member of the Jedi Order, or you can get your ass out that door and never come back. Play by our rules, or don't play at all. You may have had free reign these last five years, but if I find you messing with Jedi affairs again, I'll come after you myself.

"If you do decide to stick around, get your head in the game and get ready for the mission. We have a job to do. No more moping around in here. You're supposed to be a _Jedi Knight_. Act like one. Focus on what needs to be done and the good you can do." Luke walked to the door and turned back on an afterthought. "And go apologize to your sister and the Horns. It's the least you can do for them."

* * *

Luke left the garden and walked quickly down a hallway until he found a deserted corridor where he leaned against the bulkhead to catch his breath. His hands were still shaking and his heart was racing from the battle. Even in Jacen's tortured state, his powers were formidable – and almost more than he could have handled. He knew Han and Leia would not be happy about what he did to their son, but he knew he had done the right thing.

As he rested, he ran through some Jedi relaxation techniques to regain his focus and gain perspective, finding his centre of calm. His comlink chirped at him, catching him off guard and sending his heart rate back up, but he answered it quickly.

"Skywalker."

"Sir, there is a man named Lando Calrissian requesting docking permission on your authorization."

"Please have him land immediately," Luke ordered. "Which docking bay is available?"

"Docking bay eleven, deck thirty-eight, sir."

Luke thanked the technician and rushed to the docking bay where Lando's ship was docking, anxious to hear the news from Kyle and the old pirate. When he arrived and found Lando alone, dressed in what Luke could only guess to be a matte black cat suit standing beside a proton torpedo, he was uncharacteristically confused. It was rare to find Lando in anything other than a flashy outfit and a cape.

"Lando, what happened to Kyle?" Luke asked.

"Dropped him off at a transport to Coruscant," Lando said. "Good news from Page though. He's willing to train your people, but you have to go to him on Krant. He's well rooted there."

"And the others?"

"No such luck," Lando said. "But look at _this_!"

Lando reached down and picked up the proton torpedo with one hand and held it at arm's length toward Luke.

"Pretty neat, eh?"

"Lightweight proton torpedoes?"

"Power suit." Lando grinned and put the torpedo back down. "It increases the wearer's strength. An ordinary person can lift up to a thousand kilos with a fraction of the effort. Tendra and I have been working on it for years using Vong shaping techniques. It takes all the requirements from your body, and makes you significantly stronger. Watch."

Lando jumped an easy two metres into the air and landed hard on the hanger bay floor.

"Ow!" Lando exclaimed, and nearly fell over.

"Back to the drawing board?"

"I said it made you stronger, not smarter," Lando admitted. "Still working on some way to incorporate dovin basals to simulate flying."

"It looks promising, but I'd rather not field test it just yet," Luke said. "We have our hands full."

"Sure thing," Lando said. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Talk to Han," Luke replied. "He could use some cheering up."

Luke's comlink chirped at him again.

"Looks like I have to run," Luke said, examining the display screen on the comlink. "Good work on the suit. Let me know when it's ready."

* * *

Jacen left the destroyed garden a quarter hour after Luke left. Confusion and grief still consumed him, but a glimmer of necessity had found him, and that gave him a purpose. While the threat of Soora was enough to snap him from depression, he was still unsure what to do next. He knew he was not ready to face Corran and Mirax, but neither did he want to talk to Jaina. Nor did he believe his uncle would let him get away with shirking from his responsibility again.

_Jaina it is,_ He thought grimly.

He took the back passages to avoid as many people as he could, and the few he did see avoided his gaze and slipped past him. At Jaina's door, he knocked softly and a moment later she opened the door. Red rings around her eyes told him she had been crying, but he had expected that.

"What?" She demanded, and then took notice of his appearance. He was bleeding from several cuts on his face, was soaking wet, and leaned heavily against the door frame favouring his left leg. "...in the name of the Force happened to you?"

Without waiting for a response she dragged him in and sat him on her chair. She rushed to the refresher and came back with a small med kit and a damp cloth. She sat next to him and wiped up the blood trickling down his face as he sat there silently.

"What happened?" She asked again.

"Uncle Luke," Jacen said thickly. "He…wanted to rearrange Pellaeon's garden."

"With your head?"

"Something like that," Jacen admitted. "Though I think my head got rearranged more."

She sprayed some more antiseptic on the cloth and pushed it against the wound above his right eye. She was mildly upset when he barely winced.

"You deserved that," She said.

"I know," He replied. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jaina. I…"

His response was cut off by her pulling him into a hug.

"I know," Jaina felt hot tears well up in her eyes, and tried blinking them away with little success. "They were our friends. I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"I…"

"It's okay." Jaina choked back her own tears. "I know."

* * *

An hour later Jacen and Jaina found Corran's quarters and Jacen hit the call button. The door opened to reveal Corran's fist rapidly approaching Jacen's nose.

"I deserv'd dat," Jacen said from the floor, cradling his bleeding nose with one hand while supporting his weight on his knees and other hand.

"Apology _not_ accepted," Corran growled, shutting the door on the twins.

* * *

Yoda's abrupt departure from their conversation left Eriana with little doubt that someone was approaching her location, and that it was not anyone aware of her association with the ascended Jedi Master. What she did not expect was to see Luke Skywalker with a datapad standing at the end of the ramp of the _Solo Quest_.

"Hi," Eriana said gingerly with a smile. "What's going on? How did the defense go yesterday?"

"Surprisingly well," Luke admitted, but tapped his fingers against the edge of his datapad impatiently. "We were able to divert fleet movements fast enough to overwhelm the Mandalorians and force a retreat. Damages came in light, under five percent. We estimate they lost about double that."

"Great," Eriana said and stared at Luke as an uncomfortable silence sat between them for a few moments. "If there's nothing else, I have some thrusters to align..."

"There is more, Eriana." Luke said. "I'd like to offer you an official position as a Jedi Knight in the Order. You'll no longer work with Jacen, but with the entire Order. He's not fit for leadership right now."

"I sure hope this isn't your idea of a job interview, Skywalker," Eriana laughed. "I know he's in a rough spot, but I'm rather keen on keeping my current boss."

Luke gave her a hard glare and shook his head.

"Jacen has rejoined the Jedi Order," Luke said, trusting his nephew to make the right decision. "As such, his future will be for the Council to determine. He and I are going on a mission to face off with Soora. Given the state he's in, we'll be lucky if one of us makes it out of there. I want to re-assign you to the Jedi Temple…"

"Are you out of your mind?" Eriana interrupted, but Luke ploughed on.

"…to take over the position of Lightsaber Master. I…"

"There's no way you could face him without me!"

"I need someone with your skill set to train the new generation of Jedi!" Luke practically shouted over top her voice, attracting the attention of nearly everyone in the hanger bay. They glared at each other for a moment before Luke continued.

"You are the only person I can trust to train the next generation of Jedi with Jacen effectively out of the picture. You have the skills and the ability to teach. More importantly, you have the ability to learn."

"If Jacen is 'out of the picture' then why are you bringing him on this mission?" Eriana demanded. "We're a team. We stick together. I'm going with him. The end."

"Put your pride aside for a moment," Luke demanded, taking a step toward her up the ramp. "What's more important to you? Joining a suicide mission, or giving the Jedi a chance to defeat Soora if we can't?"

Eriana stopped and thought for a full minute before responding.

"Leave Jacen behind," Eriana finally said. "Take me."

"I can't do that," Luke said. "Jacen needs this as much as I need you at the Jedi Temple."

"What if I don't want to be a Jedi?"

"Then I will provide you with transportation to Bastion and a _request_ to never interfere with Jedi affairs again."

Eriana stewed silently and finally made up her mind. With the glare in his eyes, she knew Luke would not hesitate to follow through with his words.

"Fine. I suppose you're right, Master Skywalker. I'll be on the next shuttle to the Temple."

"Thank you," Luke said, and stepped up to hand her the datapad he had been holding. "Everything you need to know is here."

Eriana watched the Jedi Master until he exited the docking bay before she let out a sigh.

"What do you think?"

"Heh. Know everything, he does not. Crazy, his mission is, but crazier, your mission will be."

* * *

The dirt of Korriban crunched softly under the armoured boots of Trigger's heavy feet as he took point on the walk toward the site of the Jedi sacrifice. Three sets of boots crunched behind him, reminding him of the fact that Squeak had elected to stay on the ship and watch the sensors for any activity. As they approached the site, they easily picked out the bodies of the Jedi against the five inclined slabs of rock they had died on from a distance. Up close, the vivid details of their deaths made even Lanos look away and cringe.

"Nobody deserves to die like this," Blade said emotionlessly, looking into the frozen look of pain in the eyes of the Barabel whose body had been bisected as she crouched down to pick up the Barabel's lightsaber. "Not even a Jedi."

"I found our traitor," Trigger said, hovering over Darth Treulos's body. "Bloody shame she had to die. Always had a thing for me, this one."

"She might still," Parmis said, moving away from a young girl with a nasty lightsaber burn on her side that had claimed her life. "My sensors are detecting a heart beat."

"What?" Lanos asked for everyone, and rushed to her side. A moment later she moved.

"Help," she whispered.

"Not so fast, girlie," Trigger said. "We have it on good authority that you're a stinkin' traitor."

"And a friend of Jacen's, you idiot," Blade interjected. "If we have her captive, he'll come after her. She can be bait."

"You," the former Darth Treulos whispered. "Can...help...you..."

"I don't think you quite appreciate the situation here, young Lady Sith," Lanos grabbed her chin and pulled her limp head up so she could look him in the eye. "You're not in any shape to help anyone."

"Jacen's...friend," She whispered barely louder than the wind, but seemed to draw the strength to speak from nowhere as her eyes rolled back into her head. "Wanted me...help you. Couldda...killed you."

"She has a point," Parmis said reasonably to the others. "She did _not_ kill us."

"Give her a stim," Lanos ordered on intuition, and Blade punched the serum into Treulos's leg. A few moments later she seemed to gather enough strength to drink some water from Trigger's canteen.

"Jacen wanted you to be safe," Tahiri said breathlessly. She was stronger, but still wincing from the pain from the wound in her side. "He wanted me to take care of you. I tried sending you where you wouldn't be in danger, to rebuild, but I failed you. I'm sorry the way I...treated you, but...undercover...appearances..."

"She's slipping," Parmis said. "We should get her back to the ship."

"She's no good to us dead," Blade agreed. "We'll patch her up and put her in stasis until we can use her as bait."

"Sekava's the enemy," Tahiri said with a rush of energy. "Help me stop him. Jacen...hope...Mand...Ana…?"

"Now or never," Parmis looked up at his father. "I agree with Blade. We have to stabilize her."

"No," Lanos said, unraveling the delusional girl's speech. "She's right. Solo is the only hope we Mandalorians have of becoming who we should be. We'll patch her up, and she'll help us. Together we'll help take down the Sith, and free our brothers. Give her a bacta stim until we can get her into the ship."

"Jysella," Tahiri said, pointing weakly to the stone block beside her. "Alive."

Tahiri finally slumped forward against her restraints. Blade cut the ropes and Trigger gently laid her on the ground. After a quick shot of a bacta stim, Trigger picked her up and sprinted toward the ship with her in his arms. Parmis followed with Trigger's blaster in hand, leaving Blade and Lanos behind.

"What do you think?" Lanos asked, looking over the young girl's body that hung beside where Tahiri had been hanging. A nasty lightsaber burn had grazed her rib cage, but she had no discernible pulse. "The injury doesn't look fatal, but she looks pretty dead to me."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't that lightsaber go _through_ her chest in the video?" Blade asked, pointing at the mark on her rib cage.  
After a moment of contemplation, both warriors looked at each other.

"I remember it _grazing_ from the replay," Lanos said.

A moment of silence that was filled only with the sound of the wind whistling hung between the two warriors.

"I've heard stories about Jedi healing trances can make a Jedi appear dead while repairing their body from injuries," Blade said in wonder.

Lanos picked the lightsaber that had fallen to the ground beside the girl and cut through the rope binding her right arm. The girl twisted half way off the inverted slab of rock, still hanging from her left arm.

"Leave her a canteen of water and put this on her belt," Lanos ordered, handing Blade the lightsaber. "If she is alive, she'll be able to escape when the Jedi recover the bodies. We don't have time to fix all of the Jedi's problems today."

* * *

Jacen and Jaina sat in a relatively quiet corner booth of the luxurious private officer's lounge on Pellaeon's flagship that had been designated for the use of the Jedi. They sat as far away as they could be from the group congregated by the bar on Jacen's insistence. Jaina wanted to join the conversation between several of the Jedi, but she knew Jacen needed her company as much as he needed to stare into the depths of the tea he was drinking and ignore everything around him. She had been the one who dragged him there even though he wanted to sit in his ship and meditate – or _sulk_, as Jaina had said.

_At least he is sulking among friends_, Jaina thought, and turned her attention to the other Jedi around her.

She knew everyone prepared themselves for battle in a different way and took note of how the people she knew did so. Master Skywalker had withdrawn to his quarters to meditate, preferring to draw on the Force rather than companionship. Her dad tinkered with the _Falcon_, keeping up with a maintenance schedule that could only be defined as "constant." Kyp, the current centre of attention within the lounge, joked around and told humorous stories. Several others played sabbacc in another corner, and others withdrew to a gym to spar or exercise.

Jaina herself had become so accustomed to being constantly alert for battle during the Vong war that she no longer had a pre-battle routine, and merely had come to expect that she would be risking her life yet again at any time. For the first time since the war, this realization came to a surprise to her and she felt a twinge of nostalgia for the excitement, fear, and thrill she had felt when Gavin had asked her to join Rogue Squadron at the start of the Vong war.

An unusually warm hand on her own brought her attention back to her brother.

"We're not the kids we were before." He broke his bout of silence, having sensed her nostalgic thought. "I don't know if that's good or bad, but we're still here. That has to count for something, right?"

A wash of his emotions hit her through the twin bond, and she caught a glimpse of thoughts reflecting on Anakin, Tahiri, and Zekk among them.

"Promise me you'll come back from this mission," Jaina said, seeing the hollow look of resignation in his eyes. She turned her hand over to hold his, and put her other hand on top. "We've both lost too much as it is."

Jacen smiled weakly. "It's not like I haven't been dead before."

Before she could ask what he meant by his words, Nelani and Eriana sat down at their table and Jaina extracted her hands from her brother's.

"Nice quiet party you have going here," Eriana said. She kicked Jacen's shin under the table to watch him not wince and raised her mug to him. "Thanks for the invite. Or lack thereof."

"I've been busy," Jacen said elusively, staring back into the depths of his tea as if it held his future.

"Whatever," Eriana said and turned to Jaina. "So your uncle has this idea that Nelani and I are going to the Jedi Temple to train Jedi how to hold their lightsabers. Or, more specifically, that we won't be part of tomorrow's festivities. He's shipping both of us out to the Jedi Temple first thing in the morning."

"He does have the continuation of the Order to worry about," Jaina said, trying to avoid showing favouritism. "I think that's a good sign that he is placing his trust in you."

"Or just trying to get me to clear out," Eriana sighed and gestured toward Kyp with her mug. "At least I won't have to teach with that idiot. I pity the fools who have to fly with him."

"Jaina, I want a gunner turret," Nelani said suddenly. "You need a crew for Jacen's ship. I volunteer."

"I was going to have Ben and Lowie fly with me," Jaina admitted. "But Lowie has always been a better co-pilot than a gunner. Are you sure about this? We're the drop ship for Jacen and Master Skywalker. It won't be an easy mission."

"I need this," Nelani nearly pleaded. "I won't let you down."

Jaina looked to her brother.

"It's your ship," she said. "You have last say in the roster."

Jacen reached into a pocket, dropped a handful of datacards on the table and stood up.

"Yours. I'm not in the mood for flying."

He sauntered out of the lounge and Jaina examined the datacards – one was the distinctive shape of a Corellian light freighter master override codes, and the other was a droid master command card. His lightsaber aside, he had just given her his two most prized possessions.

"He doesn't expect to come back from this mission, does he?" Eriana asked, blankly staring at the cards.

"No," Jaina choked out. "I don't think he does."


	18. 1 Day

**1 Day...**

Late in the day on Coruscant, a lone YT-2300 light freighter left a busy spaceport, returned to orbit and made a short hyperspace jump away.

The ship exited hyperspace amid nearly a thousand ships of all shapes and sizes, some housing hundreds of smaller ships themselves. Snubfighters escorted the YT-2300 into formation beside a black YT-1300 freighter and several other mismatched ships. Here, it waited patiently while data gathered by the YT-2300's sensors were uploaded to several of the larger ships.

After an hour of support craft moving about between ships and making hyperspace jumps, snubfighters began streaming out of the larger ships, forming up into fighter groups, squadrons, and wings, each with their own preplanned objective and orders.

With final orders in hand, all of the ships disappeared into hyperspace never to return to that location in space again.

* * *

Soora Bulq had awoken that morning with an odd feeling, as if he had forgotten an important word in a conversation or as if he had an itch that would not go away and could not be scratched. He found this sensation entirely unsettling, so he immediately ordered Darth Krak and his five best students to report to Coruscant without delay. As the day wore on, poring over battle, damage, and espionage reports from the previous few days only made the feeling of unease grow profoundly. Mandalorian agents had reported ship movements among the Jedi Coalition fleets, including the evacuation of the Belgaroth defense fleet, which could mean only one of two things: they were shuffling their lines; or planning an attack.

Experience, both as a Jedi and as a Sith, had taught him to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. In doing so, Soora immediately put a plan into place to call as many ships as he could from their standard patrol routes and regroup several light years outside the Coruscant system and await further instructions. On intuition, he also ordered several of the larger ships on permanent assignment to Coruscant to regroup within close range to make the defenses around Coruscant appear weaker than they would, in fact, be. To get back at that cursed Wedge Antilles, he ordered an attack on Belgaroth should Coruscant be attacked.

But that still did not abate the Weequay's unease.

After Lord Krak finally arrived, Soora had the other Sith dress as Mandalorians and accompany them both to speak to Chief of State Cal Omas.

It was not until Soora arrived at the Chief's office that he discovered the source of his unease.

Sitting in the Chief's office were two-hundred million credits worth of bounty.

And a Vornskr.

* * *

Two hundred ships dropped out of hyperspace five hundred kilometres outside the range of the glistening Golan defense platforms hovering in orbit around Coruscant and opened fire on the torpedo turrets and mines that comprised the outer layer of defense around the capital planet of the Galactic Alliance. Mon Calamari Cruisers, Mark II Imperial Star Destroyers, Bothan assault frigates, and an assortment of other capital ships made short work of the defense grid and plodded toward the capital planet without any losses or significant damage.

"Status," Admiral Wedge Antilles requested, perched forward anxiously on the command chair of the Aurora-class warship, watching their progress on the holographic display before him.

"The _Arbitrator_ took the brunt of the attack," the captain reported. "Ten percent loss in shield power, but they are regenerating."

"Mandalorian ships closing in as expected," a sensor technician announced.

"Send a request for them to surrender on all channels, full power. I want all of Courscant to hear it," Wedge ordered, standing up and walking through the hologram to the window overlooking the front of the ship. He could barely make out the approaching ships reflecting glints of sunlight, but knew they were not far away. "Signal the fleet. Tell Tycho and Garm to prepare to execute formation Omicron."

Wedge waited patiently as the Mandalorian ships closed. At best guess, they out-numbered his fleet two-to-one.

"Distance?"

"One hundred kilometres and closing, sir."

"Any response to our hail?"

"None, sir."

Wedge counted to ten in his head, and ordered the initiation of formation Omicron. The Aurora-class ship gave a slight jolt as the braking thrusters fired, and all but six of the other ships in the formation continued forward and outward from the ring the centre six ships created. A proximity alarm sounded as another group of five hundred capital ships dropped out of hyperspace, taking formation around and augmenting the concave disk of ships that Wedge's initial two hundred ships created.

"All ships; target the Mandalorians first," Wedge ordered calmly.

Like a massive bowl put over a fruit, the Jedi fleet surrounded the Mandalorian and Galactic Alliance defense fleet. Augmented targeting systems and the distribution of ships gave the Jedi fleet maximum destructive capacity with minimal overall exposure. From seven hundred capital ships, each loaded with at least thirty heavy turbolaser and ion cannons aimed to the centre of the kill zone, hell was unleashed upon the five hundred ships caught in the web of destruction.

* * *

"Chief of State, what is going on here?" Soora demanded upon seeing Luke Skywalker and Jacen Solo at the desk of Cal Omas. "Are you _collaborating_ with the enemy?"

"This has gone on long enough, _Soora Bulq_." Cal, Jacen and Luke stood to face their enemy. "Luke has informed me about the truth behind your actions. Fixing an election on Corellia, assassinating senators, and orchestrating a war are practically Palpatine in execution. I don't know how I didn't see it before, but this is the end of your term, _senator_."

"That would be the mind tricks," Jacen said halfheartedly. "Another Sith tool."

"Soora Bulq, on the order of the duly elected leader of the Galactic Alliance and my authority of Grand Master of the Jedi Order, I hereby place you under arrest pending trial for treason," Luke said, drawing his lightsaber but not yet igniting it.

"I think _not_." Soora's lightsabers were lit and he was in the air even before the words were out of his mouth. Luke deflected the attack easily and pushed Soora back as Krak stepped in to keep up the attack on Luke. Both Sith Lords hammered at Luke's lightning-fast defense, striking and slashing in near unison but unable to break through as they drove him away from Cal Omas and Jacen. The other five Sith surrounded Jacen and Astro with lightsabers ignited, cutting them off from their leaders. Jacen stood between the five Sith and Cal Omas, sure the Chief of State would be slaughtered with blame being placed on the Jedi.

He looked at the Sith and sighed.

"Bring it," Jacen offered, empty handed.

Two Sith stepped toward the Jedi and his pet, but went no further. A pair of telekinetic shockwaves blasted holes through the floor, shattering the legs of the Sith and sending them screaming to the depths below the office. Saved from the fall were the two Sith lightsabers, which flicked through the air to meet hovering in an X across Jacen's chest.

* * *

Luke used everything at his disposal to counteract the attacks of the two Sith Lords. Chairs, tables, mementos, and even a statue of his sister were flung at Soora as distractions as Luke tried his best to take out Darth Krak, the weaker of the two warriors, but everything he did could only hold them off. Gaining no ground, Luke began to tire, but drew on the Force to keep his limbs moving and his movements precise. Krak's brute force style of combat complemented Soora's precision in a way that kept Luke barely able to counter attack, but he drew first blood with Krak's left hand when the large brute foolishly fell for Luke's open guard and tried to punch the Jedi's head. Unfortunately, while Krak withdrew to recover from his severed hand, Soora pressed on, attacking from every angle in a vicious Vaapad attack frighteningly similar to the one training fight he had truly lost in years, right down to the feral look in his opponents eyes.

* * *

"Eighty-eight enemy ships destroyed, twenty-four disabled."

"Mandalorians recovering and targeting individual ships."

"Redirect targeting algorithms to focus fire on high priority targets," Wedge ordered, half listening to the chatter on his bridge and half focusing on the hologram before him. His eye picked out several targets that were organizing ships around them, obviously led by more experienced commanders. "Designate targets M-57, M-220, A-12, A-90, M-72, and M-190 as high priority."

"Designating targets."

"Wedge," Tycho and Garm's holograms appeared in the corner of the display, catching Wedge's attention. "Mandalorian bombers are starting to make runs at our older command ships."

"Launch the remaining fighters and put them on guard duty, Tycho," Wedge ordered. "I don't want them drawn into the kill zone. Distribute among ships suffering the most damage."

Thus far, the battle had been going well. The Alliance ships, completely caught off guard by the appearance of the additional ships that surrounded them, responded erratically by firing at any target they could find and trying to flee the Jedi Coalition fleet's kill zone. The Mandalorians responded by falling back on their training, instantly targeting ships for maximum effect, but could do little against the sheer overwhelming number of Jedi ships and their disorganized allies. Within minutes, however, the Mandalorians appeared to be calling the Alliance ships to order and refocused their efforts.

Wedge smiled slightly when target M-220, a Mandalorian carrier, exploded and took several ships with it. One less commander to worry about.

"Sensors are detecting hyperspace disturbances," Garm reported. "More ships dropping out of hyperspace."

"Sir, ships just appeared at our aft!" One of Wedge's bridge crew shouted. "Two hundred ships. They're launching bombers and torpedoes!"

Wedge bit back a curse as the hologram before him updated. With all of the conical formation of the Jedi Coalition fleet, it provided maximum kill power in the centre, but the new fleet had jumped to the tip of the cone – the weakest point, which happened to be Wedge's command ship.

"Order the closest ships to bring as many batteries to bear on the new fleet as possible," Wedge shouted.

The first salvo of torpedoes hammered the shields of the Aurora-class war ship and blaster bolts continued rocking the ship. Wedge barely fell into the command chair and clung to the arm when a second salvo hit.

"Redirect any non-essential power to shields!" Wedge shouted. "Is this the reinforcement group we found?"

"Negative. There are too many ships."

"Focus all batteries on those Mandalorians. Coordinate to pick them off one at a time. Set a course away from the ships. We'll regroup along the cone as best we can."

As the crew rushed to address the crisis, Wedge looked out the main viewport at the mass of Mandalorian ships that slowly came into their view and felt his stomach sink to the floor.

They had him, and they knew it.

"Send a distress call to Pirhana Group," Wedge ordered. "Give her our situation, and tell her sooner is better than later."

* * *

The remaining three Sith warriors attacked at once, launching themselves at Jacen and his Vornskr while Cal Omas cowered behind his desk. Jacen snatched one of the lightsabers out of the air with his right hand and spun into the attack, snapping up the other with his left hand and deflecting the initial attack with a strong double counter-attack that sent the first Sith tumbling toward Astro's tail as the Vornsrk leapt aside and dug the poisonous barb deep into his target's neck. Jumping out of the way of the lightsaber before it could sever his tail, Astro jumped toward the next Sith as Jacen continued his spin attack with a feigned double overhead strike, using the left lightsaber to bind the Sith's blade while the other twisted lazily on a perpendicular plane of attack, severing the lightsaber arm at the elbow. Astro pounced on the befuddled Sith, digging his claws into the man's shoulders and crushed his head with a powerful bite of his jaws. The third Sith landed a slash against Jacen's shoulder, but Jacen spun away from the attack before any damage could be done to more than his shirt. He brought his lightsabers across as he spun, using both to deflect the single blade from hitting him and forcing the Sith to over-commit to his attack. The off-balance Sith Warrior was an easy target for a side kick to the knee, which collapsed the joint sideways and sent the last warrior down the hole he had made just minutes before.

Jacen sighed and tossed the two red lightsabers down the hole. He drew his own two from his belt – the rebuilt one focused with a Corusca gem he recovered after the attack on Shimrra over Coruscant, and the one Mace Windu had given him when he started learning Vaapad – and turned his attention to his Uncle.

Luke was tiring, and fast. His defenses were barely able to keep up with the constant onslaught, even though he had injured Krak. Jacen watched in horror as his uncle fell for Krak's feint, and Soora lunged to take advantage with his Shoto. He reached deep within the Force and _pulled_ Soora away from his uncle, slamming the Sith Lord against the wall beside him. Luke recovered enough to block Krak's next attack, and finally was able to focus on regaining his strength with only one assailant.

"Mighty angry for a Jedi, my young Solo," Soora said as he recovered from the impact. "Do I sense the Dark Side within you?"

"You can't win, Soora," Jacen said. "If you strike me down, I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Surrender, and I promise you'll get a fair trial."

"A trial I can't possibly win?" Soora sneered and Astro growled in response. Jacen sent a message to Astro, and the Vornsrk grudgingly turned and joined Luke in attacking Krak.

"That's your own fault," Jacen sighed. "You didn't have to try taking over the galaxy."

"What is the point of being a Master of the Sith without having some ambition?" Soora grinned. He jumped at Jacen and attacked with full-out Vaapad, attacking with a blur of red light against Jacen's green and purple blur of defense. Combining Soresu and Vaapad, Jacen steadily blocked every attack that came his way, even though he had lost his heart in the battle. He knew he only needed to distract Soora long enough for his uncle to take out Krak, and then Soora would meet his match.

Soora took advantage of Jacen's lacklustre performance and launched Jacen's lightsaber out of his hand with his shoto, sending it flying across the room.

Soora laughed. "That's the best you can do, _Jedi_?"

He pressed the attack, overwhelming Jacen as he frantically tried to keep up with the double blade assault, steadily being driven back toward Cal Omas's desk. He could sense Luke and Astro's frustration as Krak pressed on, seemingly able to focus better after losing a hand. That momentary distraction took Jacen's other lightsaber from his hand, and the surprise opened his guard for the split second Soora needed to telekinetically shove the young Jedi against the solid front of the desk.  
Jacen looked up, past the red blade of Soora's lightsaber, and exhaled deeply. After a couple more deep breaths, he realized Soora was laughing at him.

"Did you really think your weak Light Side powers could stand against me?" Soora asked. "What a pitiful excuse of a Jedi you've become! When I started training you, you were strong. We could have ruled the galaxy together, unstoppable! What happened? Was it that red-headed whore on Hapes that stole your passion?

"A hundred million credits. I think I'll kidnap that queen and buy myself a moon to enjoy her on." Soora finally plunged the blade toward Jacen's heart.

* * *

An explosion caught Wedge Antilles and flung him across the bridge. Somewhere along his head-over-heels tumble his shoulder slammed into another body and he painfully bounced over a computer terminal, coming to rest under a data terminal seat.

"Sir!" Someone shouted and tugged Wedge out from under the chair and he felt a pair of fingers against his throat.

"I'm fine, Bode," Wedge protested to the bridge medic, adrenaline coursing through his system and dulling any pain. An explosion rocked the ship, almost knocking Bode over, but he stabilized himself and looked back at the Admiral.

"No, you're not. Your arm is bleeding, your eyes aren't focusing, and you _must_ have a concussion. Whiplash, at least!"

"I've had worse," Wedge grunted, hauling himself upright. He immediately wished he had not, but he pressed on, forcing himself to his feet with the help of the aide. "Status!"

"Another fleet jumping in!" Someone called. "More Mandalorians."

Wedge looked across the half-destroyed bridge toward his strategic hologram as it flickered and struggled to display the battlefield update. The six ships comprising the point of the cone were flashing red, taking a beating from the Mandalorians at the rear. Another group of about twenty Mandalorian ships had jumped in along one side of the cone, but they, too, flashed somewhere between red and orange rather than the healthy green of the majority of the Jedi ships.

"Issue orders to ships on that side to open fire on the new fleet," Wedge shouted and staggered toward his command chair. His right arm hung limp on his side, peppered with shrapnel from the display that had exploded and sent him painfully across the bridge, and his right cheek burned with pain. A gentle probing with his left hand found shrapnel embedded in his cheek, but he left it alone.

"More ships entering the system! Fighter classes!"

Wedge punched a button on his chair and looked at the hologram before him. He sincerely hoped the screen was reporting accurately.

"Jaina, that better be you!" Wedge called out.

"Piranha Group reporting in," The bright voice of Jaina Solo rang out. "Sorry we didn't get all the ships, but they decided to jump early."

"Just take care of the ones on our six and I'll forgive you," Wedge ordered. "All batteries, keep suppressive fire on the Mandalorians. Let's give our fighters a chance to save us."

* * *

The _Solo Quest_ dropped out of hyperspace with a fighter escort of over two thousand ships at the back end of the kill-zone Admiral Antilles had constructed, as ordered. As flight leader of Piranha Group, Jaina flew the modified YT-2300 with a full crew to augment the wings of fighters at her command. As well as Jedi gunner crews and various technicians and communication specialists, the _Solo Quest_ also had Madurrin aboard – one of very few Jedi gifted with the ability of battle meditation.

Before Jaina were several hundred large Mandalorian ships hammering at the six focal point command ships that had made up the tip of the kill zone while they struggled to move away to join the rest of the fleet as it fanned out to create a killing cylinder opposed to a cone. As far as Jaina could tell, the only reason the six ships had lasted as long as they had was because some of the Mandalorian ships were obstructing the targeting solutions of the others.

"Piranha Group, break into wings and squadrons," Jaina ordered. "Every squad, take a ship and confirm with the _Quest_. Stick together and cover your backs. Let's kill some Mandos and get home for dinner."

Jaina flicked over to a private frequency and hit the push-to-talk button. "Twin Suns, Wild Knights, form up on me. We're taking that big one up front."

Jaina absently heard the bank of technicians down the hall in the converted cargo bay as she redirected the ship toward the offending Mandalorian ship. She knew the technicians were conversing with the squadron leaders and updating the overall tactical picture that fed into her HUD and was used by the tacticians to ensure the attack would be optimized for effectiveness. Not wanting to be distracted, she shut them out of her mind to focus on the battle. She could feel the flow of Madurrin's battle meditation as it brought a level of clarity of the entire battle to her, while still allowing her to see her place in the giant puzzle.

"Incoming blaster fire," Twin Suns Three commed as Jaina picked up the sense of it intuitively through the battle meld and already started to manoeuvre around it.

"Lowie, see if you and Womprat can find a weak spot on that ship to hit," Jaina said to her co-pilot. "I'll fly; you pick the targets."

The _Solo Quest_ and the dozen fighters of Twin Suns squadron weaved expertly through the flurry of blaster fire, trusting the Force to bring them order through the chaos of battle as they raced toward the largest command ship in the Mandalorian fleet. The ship, about the size of a pair of Imperial Star Destroyers, continually spewed torpedoes toward Wedge's Aurora-class command ship and started firing blaster bolts at the starfighters upon their approach.

"Tactical update: Target locations identified, _master,_" Womprat drawled from his location tied into the main sensor suite. He was still unhappy about his ownership transfer, but the two grudgingly accepted each other – at least until Jacen came back.

"What are we hitting?" Jaina asked the droid.

"Avoiding statement: I suggest two torpedoes from each fighter, _master_."

Jaina's eye caught a flight of Mandalorian bombers crossing their path, and Madurrin instantly designated them a priority, putting Womprat's target to the back of her mind.

"Twin Suns, pick off this flight of bombers and prepare for our attack run," Jaina ordered before Lowie could fill her in. "Transferring target coordinates to your astromechs now."

Nelani and Ben's gunner turrets spat red light at the oncoming bombers and the six X-wings on either flank joined in a second later. At top speed, they blasted past the flight of bombers, leaving eight of the twelve destroyed and the rest crippled.

"Circle back and finish them off?"

"Negative, Twin One," Jaina said. "Set up the attack run."

As the flight of X-wings closed, the gunners became more accurate and the Jedi found themselves dancing around blaster bolts more erratically and less successfully.  
One of Wedge's six ships exploded brilliantly, quickly followed by a second, bringing a sense of despair across the Jedi, but Madurrin quickly compensated to refocus the fighters. They could grieve later.

"We're in torpedo range," Jaina called when a light flickered on her HUD indicating they were 12 kilometres out. "Fire the first round. Two torps each."

Jaina fired a pair of concussion missiles, and a pair of blue engine flares from each X-wing streaked toward the Mandalorian command ship. Several moments later, the projectiles slammed into the shields, creating a temporary weakness that allowed the last third of the torpedoes through. Several explosions broke out on the hull of the ship, and an entire area of the shielding disappeared from the HUD as the fighter group closed to six kilometres. Blaster bolts furiously hit the X-wings more frequently, and shield strength across the board diminished.

"Great target!" Jaina complemented Womprat. "Twin Suns, let's get out of here. Fire at target two and break! Knights, they're all yours!"

Jaina unloaded six concussion missiles and spun the _Quest_ away from the massive capital ship, trusting the Force to guide her away safely.

"Lowie, update?"

[Suns are scrambling, Knights are unloading torpedoes,] Lowie barked, staring at the HUD. Hidden in the exhaust trails behind the Twin Suns, the Wild Knights re-enacted Garm Bel Iblis's A-wing slash with the precision only Jedi could execute. Using modified B-wings equipped to carry sixteen heavy rockets, the Wild Knights launched a devastating array of forty-eight rockets alongside the Twin Sun torpedoes at the unprotected flank of the Mandalorian ship. With their relatively undamaged shields, the B-wings soaked up whatever damage the Mandalorians threw at them, and used their blasters to take out blaster turrets targeting the rockets before breaking away from the doomed ship.

"Jaina! Massive internal explosions! The ship is splitting in half!" Ben called from his gunner turret.

The Mandalorian ship ceased firing and began to spit plumes of flame out of random spots along the hull. The ship cracked vertically, and the two chunks were propelled away from the explosion toward other Mandalorian ships.

"What did we hit?"

"Gleeful statement: The starboard power conduit leading directly into the main power plant," Womprat reported. "Based on our angle of attack, the two sections of ship should kill at least five other meatcan ships."

"Let's do it again," Jaina ordered. "Suns, Knights, form up. There are plenty more targets to hit."

* * *

Kyp Durron and Han Solo watched the battle progress from the bridge of the _Millennium Falcon_, though at such a distance that they could not make out any more details than the odd explosion. Wedge's ships had jumped into the system and had drawn the defense ships into his net of destruction, and away from the powered-down _Falcon_ hiding on the far side of Coruscant. They listened to the radio chatter catching the updates as two more fleets jumped in, followed by Jaina's task force. When the Interdictors jumped into the system outside of firing range from the Mandalorian-GA fleets, Han decided it was time to start the next phase of the operation.

"No sense waiting any longer," Han said, flicking several switches as he talked. "Power up and call in the cavalry."

Kyp activated the communication suite and sent and encoded signal. As the _Falcon_ powered up, the two men waited in anticipation for the fleet to arrive.

"Han, I just wanted to say..." Kyp started.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Han cut his old friend off. "Don't thank me till we get home alive."

Kyp smiled and nodded. For a non-Jedi, Han could be surprisingly insightful.

"Here we go," Han said. He slammed the throttles to full as the task force dropped into real space around the _Falcon_ and he began issuing orders for his group. Between them and their target were four Golan defense platforms, each capable of holding an Imperial Star Destroyer to a standstill. While Han did not have any Star Destroyers, he figured the thousand or so frigates flanking the _Falcon_ might just do the trick.

* * *

When Soora's blade hit Jacen's chest, black snakes crawled out of the sleeves, enveloping his exposed skin and stopping Soora's lightsaber from hurting their master. Soora recoiled in horror as the snakes settled into position, encasing Jacen's skull, arms and legs in a living shell of armour. As the snakes encased Jacen's body, Soora felt something he thought he had trained himself to resist – fear. Fear of the unknown armour, and fear of the fire of passion he had incited in the Jedi.

Jacen kipped to his feet and launched a massive telekinetic shockwave toward the Sith Lord. Soora barely blocked it from disintegrating him, but was carried away from the force of the blast, slammed hard against the far wall again. An entire area of the office floor and ceiling cracked and groaned as it tore away from the structure of the senate building.

"Amphistaffs," Jacen remarked with an unnaturally cold voice. "Don't leave home without them."

Both of Jacen's lightsabers snapped to his hands and he stepped toward Soora, tipping the weakened structure and adding enough weight to crack it away from the building. The entire section of office lurched and fell, taking the two combatants with it. Jacen pushed off just before it gave way and launched himself toward Soora in a downward direction, slashing at the Sith in mid-air. Soora responded with a desperate telekinetic shove that sent Jacen soaring away in a parabolic course.

The damaged structure crashed to the courtyard below, and Jacen landed on his feet, his fury helping him find his footing as he landed with lightsabers at the ready. He found Soora's life presence within the collapsed structure and used the Force to rip a massive plate of durasteel wall aside, uncovering the Sith Lord from the wreckage.

"Give up," Jacen demanded in that cold, no-nonsense voice that could give a wompa a chill. Lightning played across his arms and down the shafts of his lightsabers, sparking against the ground like a snapping snake. "Your insurrection is over. You cost the galaxy too much, and now it's time to pay up."

* * *

Explosions rocked the _Gus Treta_ as the port bank of engines exploded under the constant bombardment from the Mandalorian-Galactic Alliance fleet, sending Wedge and his remaining bridge crew tumbling.

"All systems going critical!" Someone reported. "Hull is fracturing!"

Wedge set his jaw grimly as he pulled himself up to his command chair and punched a button.

"All hands, this is the Admiral. Abandon ship. Repeat: Abandon ship!"

Wedge hit another button and sent a message to Tycho to take command before signing off and slouching against the chair.

"Sir, it's time to go," Bode said, trying to get an arm under Wedge's good arm to help him stand.

"All good warriors must come to an end," Wedge said with a melancholic grin, not even trying to get to his feet. "Get yourself clear before she blows. That's an order."

Another explosion rocked the ship, sending Bode to the ground beside Wedge.

"I'm not leaving you, sir!" Bode shouted as he pulled himself standing again. He flagged down the last remaining bridge crew member and together they carried Wedge out of the bridge toward the escape pods. No sooner than they entered the hallway leading out of the bridge, a torpedo crashed through the main viewport and exploded. Before the emergency blast doors could shut and seal off the rest of the ship from decompression, the force of the blast sent all three men tumbling down the hallway. Bode pulled himself to his feet and discovered his left arm was broken. Wedge was unconscious, but the other man had not been so lucky, nearly cut in half when he slammed into a half-open doorway near the escape pod hatch. Another tremor rocked the ship and a plume of fire raced down the hallway toward the unlucky medic and his Admiral.

* * *

The _Millennium Falcon_ tore through Coruscant's atmosphere with fighters in pursuit, escorted by a dozen troop assault ships bristling with blaster turrets that returned at the pursuing V-wings with resolve and accuracy. After a relatively easy battle against the undefended Golan platforms, Han led the ground assault force toward the Senate building while the remaining ships spread out in geo-synchronous orbit around Han's destination to protect them on their extraction. Han's mission was, in the case that Luke and Jacen failed, to apprehend Cal Omas. Otherwise, he was the extraction team for Luke and Jacen. Naturally, he sincerely hoped that his mission would end as a courier, not a kidnapper.

* * *

Darth Krak's relentless assault and immersion in Vaapad kept Luke off balance enough that he could do little more than defend himself. Flashes of light from random directions would have resulted in fatal blows if not for the guidance of the Force to keep Luke's blade a fraction of a second ahead of the large Sith Lord. The loss of a hand only seemed to entice the large man, and the fallen section of the building did not waiver his focus one iota.

Astro circled the attack, using the Force to gauge the battle and wait for an opportunity. While vicious and powerful, Astro knew the dangers of lightsabers and did not want to lunge at the wrong time.

Beyond the use of lightsabers, Krak and Skywalker tossed objects at each other, even using a couple of tables as shields against the battering onslaught of statues, mementos, and furniture that they attempted to pepper each other with. Luke leapt back from Krak before a strong horizontal slash could bisect him and used the larger man's miss as an opportunity to throw everything he could. Whiskey glasses, shards of glass, the head of his sister's destroyed statue, datapads and telekinetic pulses from Luke's own hands overwhelmed Krak and sent him stumbling backward away from the Jedi.

Astro lunged at the Sith Lord and caught his left paw across the shoulder of the large man, using his position to sink his teeth deep into the other shoulder and whip his tail barb into the Sith Lord's left leg.

A flash of red and an inhuman yelp of pain were followed by Astro being tossed over Krak's shoulder against a wall, where the Vornskr lay motionless with a deep gash across his chest.

Luke took a step toward Krak to take advantage of the distraction, but five Mandalorians burst into the room with blasters blazing. Luke caught the first two blaster bolts in an awkward defense and twisted back the way he came to put some distance between both Krak and the Mandalorians. He reflected the blaster fire back at the Mandalorians, but the bolts were not strong enough to do much more than bounce off their thick armour and distract them momentarily. Fortunately for Luke, Krak had more important things to deal with as he restricted the blood flow in his leg and focused on rejecting the Vornskr poison from his system before it could prove fatal.

"Luke!"

A pair of flashes of blue appeared at the doorway the Mandalorians had come through, and the commandos were quickly dispatched with the expert swordsmanship of Kyle Katarn and Eriana Fostenon. Spotting Krak, Eriana rushed forward and quickly attacked him with full Vaapad ferocity unlike any Luke had ever witnessed. Seconds later, the injured Sith Lord lay dead, hacked into a dozen pieces.

"You should be at the Jedi Academy!" Luke exclaimed, finally understanding Eriana's presence.

"You're welcome," She said sarcastically.

"Jan, get in here!" Kyle called back toward the hallway. "You should be thanking her, Skywalker. Eriana found us and we came as fast as we could. Looks like we got here just in time."

"Great redecorating job," Eriana gestured toward the large hole Jacen had created. "Your work?"

"Jacen's," Luke said. "He damaged the building and him and Soora fell to the courtyard below. He told Astro…oh, no."

Eriana followed Luke's gaze and saw the Vornskr crumpled against the wall, an almost happy grin across his canine features. She raced over and examined the wound.

"We need Jacen," she said. When she looked back at Luke, tears were already streaming down her face. "We need him now."

* * *

Bystanders gathered around the courtyard as Jacen's furious attack left Soora backpedaling across the rubble of Cal Omas's office, frantically blocking the attacks with near ineffectiveness. Lightning coursed off Jacen's blades, arcing off the clashes between blades and numbing the nerves along Soora's arms. Combined with the painful lightning and the raw Skywalker speed and fury of Jacen's attacks, Soora's lightsaber was ripped away before long, followed quickly by his shoto.

Not willing to use his weaponed advantage, Jacen let his armour take his lightsabers and hold them against his thighs as he pressed the attack with hands and feet. Using the Force to enhance his power, he punched and kicked Soora with the speed and strength to dent durasteel armour plates as the Sith blocked desperately, drawing upon the Force to give his bones the strength to resist Jacen's enraged assault. Jacen caught Soora with a feint and a heavy-handed cross to the rib cage, followed by an overhead ridge-hand strike that crashed through Soora's defense and cracked his collar bone, sending him to the ground laughing. Jacen extracted an amphistaff from his armour and held the snarling snake head at Soora's throat, as if tempting him to try anything.

"Oh, Jedi Solo," Soora laughed insanely. "Feel that power. Let it _embrace_ you. Strike me down and you will find a whole new realm of power waiting for you as a Lord of the Sith."

"If there's one thing I learned," Jacen said. "It's that I never was truly a Jedi like those my uncle trained. I was always on my own, never fitting in with the textbook definitions we were told were what we were. In the last six years I've learned that there is so much more to the Force than..."

A cracking sound behind Jacen caught his attention, and he spun around to see a massive statue crumbling around the base – and a group of onlookers standing beneath it. Using his moment of distraction, Soora rolled away from the amphistaff and ran toward the nearest crowd, hiding his presence in the Force. Jacen caught the statue with the Force, easing it toward an open area of the courtyard where he laid it to rest amid a round of applause from the onlookers. His anger bled out of him as he realized what Soora's escape would mean.

A familiar sound caught Jacen's attention, and he looked up to see the _Falcon_ and several support craft coming in for a landing in the courtyard.

"Jacen!" Luke's voice called from Cal Omas's office. "Get up here! Astro's been hurt!"

* * *

_Gus Treta_ exploded brilliantly, the last of the six command ships to make up the point of Wedge's formation. Escape pods from the six ships flew across space toward Jedi Coalition ships that had cleared out of the firing range of the Mandalorian-GA reserve fleet, hoping for safety among the ships whose temporary survival was bought with their ships' sacrifice.

Tycho watched the last plumes of flame die out on the _Treta_ as if they were a tribute to the great man whose life they claimed.

_You always did want to go out in a blaze of glory,_ Tycho thought. _May the Force be with you, my friend._

"Sir, all Mandalorian ships in the kill zone have been disabled or destroyed," Someone reported, breaking Tycho out of his short memorial. "The other fleet is reorganizing – our fighters are in trouble."

"Understood," Tycho said, turning around to view the tactical hologram. The allied ships were arranged in a large cylinder around the debris field with Coruscant at one end and the large Mandalorian fleet and Jaina's taskforce at the other end. At the midpoint of the cylinder the damaged Mandalorian reserves that Jaina had hit before joining this battle were slowly taking critical damage – a notable, but relatively minor threat. The Mandalorians were refocusing their efforts on the fighters and sending groups of ships toward the edge of the cylinder, striking where weakest. "Flatten the cylinder and group the fleet in squads of ten ships. Make walls and hit them head on."

One thing that Tycho enjoyed about starfighters was their speed. Reforming a squadron could take as little as a couple of seconds. Watching capital ships regroup felt so painfully slow to Tycho that he half considered leaving the bridge for a caf break while the ships slowly plodded to their new formations.

One of Tycho's battle tacticians approached him with a datapad in hand and a worried look on his face.

"Sir, we have a problem."

"I know, Bones," Tycho said silently. "We don't have enough ships."

"Casualty estimates are upward of fifty percent for both sides."

"We have to cover Luke's escape from Coruscant," Tycho said. "Without Cal Omas and the Sith Lords, this will all be for nothing."

"If we call the Interdictors in, we may reduce casualties by ten percent," Bones argued. "They might tip the scales in our favour."

"And we'd risk them doing microjumps around the system to block the fleet there," Tycho shook his head grimly. For some reason, the feeling that he would be seeing Wedge soon enough crept into his gut. "We'll continue as planned. Signal all ships, tell them..."

"More ships dropping out of hyperspace!"

Tycho examined the tactical hologram as it updated and blew out an exhausted breath. Upon hearing those words, every military commander expects the worst, but hopes beyond reason for reinforcements.

Nothing could ever have prepared Tycho for what appeared.

* * *

Jacen wasted no time returning to the trashed office of the Chief of State. Still energized from the battle, one Force-assisted leap carried him directly into office from the courtyard below and he raced toward the fading essence of his Vornskr. He assessed the injury, but it did not look good. The gouge was deep but had not sliced through any vertebrae. His stomach and intestines, however, suffered significant damage. While tears streamed down his face, no amount of Vergere's healing tears could repair this much damage.

"How is he?" Luke asked.

"Not good," Jacen looked up at his uncle. "We need to get him into a bacta tank now."

"Can't you put him in a healing trance?" Luke asked.

"He's a Vornskr, not a human!" Jacen exclaimed. "I'm lucky I can get him to do Force assisted leaps. Forget healing trances! What happened here?"

"I almost had Krak when a team of Mandos came in," Luke said. "They started firing, and it distracted me long enough that Krak hit Astro with his lightsaber. Luckily Eriana, Jan, and Kyle showed up. Eriana charged Krak and took him down, and Kyle took care of the Mandos."

Jacen looked around and saw armoured bodies littering the now-destroyed office, and Eriana, Kyle, and Jan talking to Cal Omas discussing their upcoming departure from Coruscant. Eriana caught Jacen looking at them and signalled the group to join him and Luke.

"How bad is it?" Eriana asked.

"He needs Bacta," Jacen said. "And fast. His body is shutting down."

"I can help," Jan offered. "My office isn't far from here and our medical facilities are top notch."

Kyle looked at her with concern and Jacen picked up on it.

"I'll protect her until we can escape," Jacen offered. "Soora won't soon come after me, and there aren't any other Sith Lords that could beat me."

"Go," Luke said. "We'll get Cal out of here. Join us on Bastion as soon as you can."

Jacen picked up Astro and ran after Jan, disappearing down the corridor without another word. Both Eriana and Kyle looked at the disappearing figures of Jacen and Jan, but Luke caught on.

"I need you both to help me with Cal."

Luke walked to the edge of the hole Jacen had created and peered down at the courtyard a few storeys below where the _Millennium Falcon_ sat amid a dozen drop ships sectioning off a safe zone.

"We'll have to jump," Luke said. "I'll go first. Cal, you'll have to trust me. Jump and I'll ease you down. You two follow afterward."

Without waiting for an acknowledgement, Luke jumped out the hole and landed softly on the duracrete below with the Force as a cushion.

"Luke!" Han's voice carried out across the courtyard from the _Falcon_. "Over here!"

Luke waved back at Han, then up to Kyle up in the office. He could sense Cal's apprehension, as well as Kyle's frustration. Before he knew it, Cal was soaring out of the office, screaming at the top of his lungs. Luke eased the old Alderaanian to the ground, where Cal finally stopped screaming.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

"He pushed me!" Cal exclaimed. "That crazy bastard pushed me! I'll have his head for that! That _has_ to be treason!"

Eriana and Kyle landed softly behind Cal Omas, barely making a sound as they hit ground.

"Told you _I_ should've pushed him," Eriana told Kyle. "I've never been a citizen of the GA."

Starfighters traveling at supersonic speeds boomed overhead and Luke urged everyone aboard the _Falcon_ before the fighters came back to start shooting. The battle on Coruscant was over.

* * *

With Chiss warships hammering toward the anvil of the Jedi Coalition capital ships, crushing the Mandalorians and Galactic Alliance ships between, the battle was short lived. The GA commanders were the first to realize the error of their idealism and that they were unlikely to survive the encounter. After a general request for ceasefire, the Mandalorians decided their former allies were their next target of choice, apparently hating traitors more than Jedi collaborators. Fighting a three-stage battle did not last long for the vastly outnumbered Mandalorian ships, and they were soon disabled or destroyed.

Over the two hours after Han's taskforce left the system with their cargo intact, Tycho oversaw the retrieval of survivors and worthwhile equipment while the Chiss patrolled the system, effectively locking it down with the help of the interdictor gravity wells. Finally deciding there was nothing else to be done, Tycho ordered for all Jedi ships that would not survive the jump out of the system to be stripped down and destroyed. Those ships were, surprisingly, quite few in number, and the Jedi-Chiss survivors left the system leaving the remaining Mandalorians and traitorous GA ships behind. In true Jedi fashion, before they departed, Tycho issued an offer of defection and a set of coordinates in a communication to the surviving members of the Mandalorian-GA fleet.


	19. Chaos

**Chaos**

Drathan bid farewell to the Chiss fleet, thanking them for their support in the battle at Coruscant one last time. Leia and Mara's diplomatic efforts had worked, and while the Chiss were convinced that it was in their best interests to assist, they still believed they had no place in galactic politics.

Reports from the Jedi Coalition fleets indicated that they were regrouping to defend several areas of their territory, anxious to await the outcome of the turmoil created on Coruscant. Shipyards began to rebuild and repair the fleets, and more systems begged for admission to the Jedi Coalition. Corellia had locked itself down by using Centrepoint station, relying on a network of high speed relays to communicate with the outside galaxy, but they remained loyal to the Jedi. The Mandalorian nation, all but crippled from their staggering losses, had been taken over by Boba Fett once again. Unknown to the Jedi, Fett and several of his loyal followers had attacked Ossus and wiped out the Sith base there, only staying long enough afterward to extract the helmet of Mandalore from amid the wreckage.

Drathan was also pleased to discover that a devoted young medical aide had saved the life of Admiral Antilles, dragging the Admiral aboard an escape pod just before the ship had exploded. He very much anticipated the chance of working with Wedge once again, obviously after the Admiral had recovered from the many injuries he earned during the battle.

The old Chiss examined his reports with a mixture of melancholy and regret. He knew for the next year he would oversee the Jedi Coalition grow into a strong alliance built on the backs of people with fire and passion in their hearts that would make most Chiss blush in shame to witness, but he also knew his time was short. Plagued with a chronic condition affecting his heart, Drathan knew he would never see this alliance come to fruition as the strong government it would become.

But, as a true Chiss, he would never give up on a worthy battle.

* * *

Cal Omas sat in Luke's office on the recently repaired Jedi ship _Yoda_ across from the Jedi Master as he relayed the events of the past year and discussed current events.

"With Soora claiming the Jedi tried to assassinate him and me," Cal commented on the latest news report. "I think I should make a public statement that I _wanted_ to come back with you. Perhaps even reveal the truth about him."

"Indeed," Luke said. "I have no doubt that some will try to elect him…Jacen!"

The door to the office opening interrupted Luke's thoughts, revealing Jacen and a happy, healthy Vornskr at his heels.

"Hi Uncle Luke, Chief Omas," Jacen acknowledged them, and handed a datacard to his uncle. "I just arrived from Coruscant with Jan. She was able to extract some data from the senate archives. She said they should be able to help clear your name, Chief."

"I'm not chief anymore," Cal chuckled. "Please, call me 'Cal.' I think I'm done with politics."

"I'm glad Astro is doing well," Luke said, seeing an almost goofy grin on the Vornskr's face.

"He's fully recovered," Jacen smiled and scratched Astro's left ear. "We got to the bacta just in time.

"I should be off," Jacen said on sudden intuition. "Jaina just docked."

"Go," Luke said. "We'll discuss your future later."

Jacen started to walk away, but he stopped and turned back. His eyes twinkled with a light Luke had not seen in his nephews for nearly ten years. Luke immediately knew his nephew had made a decision.

"Master, I'd like to return to the Jedi, with one condition," Jacen said.

"What's that?"

"I don't want any long term assignments for the near future. I already have plans."

"Anything specific?"

"They involve a lonely queen I made a promise to about a year ago," Jacen said evasively. Astro growled and pawed at his leg, but Jacen pushed the Vornskr away.

"I'll tentatively accept your request," Luke said. "May the Force be with you, Jedi Knight Solo."

* * *

Jacen arrived at the docking port the _Yoda_ and _Solo Quest_ had docked together with on the _Yoda_ side of the airlock where Eriana and Jaina spoke together. Astro raced forward to greet Eriana, who was just as excited to see the Vornskr. Jacen received a hug from Jaina, and finally from Eriana when Astro ran off to find Womprat.

"Here," Jaina said, and handed him a couple of keycards – the two he had given to her the night before the battle. "These belong to you. I'm sure Womprat will be excited I'm giving you back to him."

"Thanks, Jaina." Jacen accepted the cards gratefully. "I knew I could count on you."

"Looks like someone has a new lease on life," Eriana commented. "I haven't seen you this chipper in years."

Jacen stared at her for a moment, and looked to the ground before responding.

"I realized when I was fighting that, while I had lost people close to me, I had more people that depended on me," he said. "I drew from that strength."

"Eriana told me about the battle," Jaina said. "You had Soora at blade point, but you didn't kill him even though, well, I could sense the rage within you. Why didn't you kill him?"

Jacen looked at his sister quizzically.

"Jaina," Jacen said. "I _am_ a Jedi, you know."

* * *

"Luke, please come in!" Pellaeon said when the Jedi Master appeared at his office. "I was just going over the battle reports from an attack on Belgaroth that Wedge tried hiding from me. Apparently he stole a huge Mandalorian ship that held off an attack there during the attack on Coruscant."

Pellaeon looked up at Luke, but saw a coldness in the Jedi's eyes that sunk his heart.

"You figured it out."

"I did," Luke admitted angrily. "_You_ orchestrated this from the start. _You_ arranged for the downfall of the GA and the birth of a new alliance with the Empire at its heart! The holonet just announced the collapse of the senate, and Soora took over Coruscant. And you don't seem surprised at all! The entire galaxy is falling apart around the Empire, and something tells me you had a _lot_ to do with this."

Pellaeon appeared to age by the second with Luke's words, but he refused to give ground.

"Giving power to the Empire was never my specific intention," Pellaeon said slowly and firmly. "The GA has been falling apart since before it was created. I knew it was merely a stop-gap measure, and I knew there was nothing I could do but prepare for the next phase."

"So you let a war happen just to let your prophecy fulfill itself?" Luke demanded.

"No!" Pellaeon shouted, slamming his palm on his desk. "The war would have happened anyway. I _prepared_ for it. I let it progress to _save_ the galaxy! I did my best to save as many lives as I could to forge a new galaxy.

"Look at the politicians, Luke. They know _nothing_ of why they sit in government. They've lost perspective. _Everyone_ has. The whole galaxy needs to relearn why we have interplanetary governments – to bring forth growth and prosperity, not squabble about petty problems and let senators gain personal wealth. They need to learn how to grow _together_, not just demand for themselves. Destroying the government, taking away what petty politicians hold most dear, is the only way to teach that lesson. You _have_ to see that.

"Luke, the Imperial remnant is the last standing strong government. With the Jedi supporting it, the remnant will not become Palpatine's Empire. We have the potential to become the true new republic to rise from the ashes of this war and begin anew. We can create the real voice of democracy in the galaxy!"

Luke sensed the old Admiral's sincerity and approached his desk cautiously.

"I still can't believe you would orchestrate this, Admiral," Luke said.

"I did _not_ start the war, Luke," Pellaeon said gravely. "I merely took advantage of it.

"I am too old to care what you want to do with me. Throw me in jail, execute me. Take your pick. I did what I did because I'm the only person who could get away with it."

Luke looked at him, waiting for the old admiral to continue.

"I am not likely to live very long," Pellaeon explained. "I am old. My body is failing, my heart is weak, and my doctor can tell you a dozen more things wrong with me that I can't even pronounce. Gaining power was never my intention; merely making sure the right power was in the right hands. _Your_ hands. You have the chance to build from what I started, Luke. You have the strongest government at your disposal, the best people at your command, and the time left in your life to make it _work_."

Pellaeon opened a drawer on his desk and extracted a datapad. He held out for Luke to take. Luke took it from the old man, noticing that it was the first time he saw the Admiral's hands shaking.

"My plans," Pellaeon explained. "And, I hope, our legacy. A twenty year plan to restore the government. Take it slow, my boy. Trust in Drathan and he will lead you there. Together, you _will_ restore the Republic."

* * *

**AN: **This is the end of the longest (and only!) three-part story I have written. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do ask one favour:** Please, please, _please_ review. **I want to grow as an author and I can't do that without feedback from my readers. I know there are a lot of people reading this based on the traffic reports, but very few seem to want to provide any feedback. I spent over 577 hours writing this since November 2008 (I have the Word doc to prove it) so it could be enjoyed, and all I ask of you is to give me five minutes to tell me what you thought of it. The more I hear back from everyone, the sooner I'll post the (already completed) continuation and work on the next one after that :)

Thanks again, and may the Force be with you.


	20. Preview

For those who have story alerts but not author alerts, Destiny's Call, the continutation of this timeline has been started. The link is in my profile.

Here's a preview of some later content in the story (slightly edited to not give away some plot surprises.) Happy reading :)

* * *

Intruders

The hermetic seal on the armoury hidden behind the flat panel holodisplay kept all the lightsabers, blasters, and Jacen's Mandalorian armour in nearly perfect condition. Replacing his Jedi robes, the armour clicked into place like it had last been worn yesterday, and the gasket seals held once the suit was switched over to internal oxygen. Somehow Jacen felt funny carrying a lightsaber with the armour, so he had left his lightsaber in the armoury in favour of the old specialized sniper rifle blaster he carried in his time with Lanos's team. He clamped a uni-directional glowrod to the barrel as a backup should his helmet's night vision malfunction.

"I still can't believe Womprat never told us about all of these hidden compartments," Shadow said for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Or that you were a Mandalorian."

"It doesn't surprise me," Jacen said, his helmet making his voice sound much deeper than normal. "They all require the Force to open. He was probably bitter about that fact."

Womprat seemed unable to hear the comments, despite being on the loading ramp beside Jacen.

"Ready?"

"Seal the ship and drop the ramp," Jacen acknowledged, activating the magnetic boot clamps that would prevent him from floating away. "We won't be long."

Shadow retreated back into the ship and sealed the inner airlock door. The green air pressure light switched to red, and the ramp descended. Jacen punched a command into his arm control panel and his night vision came on. Another button activated the private frequency to Womprat.

"I'm sensing something I shouldn't be," Jacen warned, thankful he had his blaster with him. "Keep your sensors sharp and your blasters primed. Move out behind that stack of crates over there and cover me."

Jacen crept down the ramp, carefully assessing the dark hanger with the HUD sensors to find out what was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he stepped off and followed Womprat to his hiding place behind the crates.

"Shadow, raise the ramp and electrify the hull," Jacen ordered. "Something is amiss."

"Care to share?"

"I'd love to, but I need something _to_ share first. I'm going off a feeling."

The ramp silently ascended in the vacuum while Jacen continued to scan the interior of the hanger. Unfortunately, the range of his sensors under night vision mode was limited.

"I can't see anything," Jacen said. "Activate the exterior floodlights."

At the flash of blinding light from the ship, something dropped on Jacen.

"What the...?" Jacen twisted around tried to bring his blaster around, but the heavy black shell of his attacker was knocked off him.

"Assessment: Bartokk Assassins," Womprat said. "Insectoids with a hive mind, vast regenerative powers, and strong outer shell. Hard, but _fun_ to kill."

Three more dropped around Jacen. The first one took all five barrels from Jacen's blaster in the chest, and another fell to a barrage of disbursed blaster fire from Womprat. The third one grabbed Jacen by the ankle with one of his lowest claws and lifted him easily in the limited gravity. The sudden lurch made Jacen drop his blaster and he did not have time to see where it landed. With the minimal gravity, it could be half way across the bay.

"Womprat!"

"Under attack, Master!"

Jacen barely noticed three more of the assassins swarming Womprat. The one with the massive hole in its chest seemed intent on grabbing Jacen's arms as he floated in mid-air, held up by his ankle.

"Shadow, Smoke," Jacen shouted. "Gunner turrets! We're under attack!"

Jacen reached for his lightsaber, but he remembered too late that he left it behind.

The other Bartokk took this moment of distraction to grab Jacen by the helmet and he felt the two pulling at him in a bizarre game of tug-of-war where he was the rope.

Red lights flashed on the HUD in tune with a warning buzzer to indicate extreme pressure on the armour's structural integrity. At any other time he would shower the Bartokks with lightning and force them back, but Mandalorian armour had the unfortunate side effect of insulating the wearer from most forms of electricity – or containing electricity within.

Telekinesis would have to do.

A third Bartokk grabbed Jacen's left arm, but the Force got the best of it, sending the Bartokk away with enough velocity to crack the exoskeleton against a far wall. The one holding Jacen's ankles departed next, and Jacen barely saw it bounce off the far wall as his feet floated back to the ground. He used the Force to wretch open the claws of the one clutching his helmet before shoving it away. Five more of the insectoids dropped around Jacen, but he jumped in the air, drew the Force into a cohesive ball of energy at his chest, and then released it, telekinetically shredding the nearest five assassins. Before his feet touched the ground, Jacen yanked two lightsabers through time and space from the armoury using an Aing-tii technique and ignited the blades. Even though he knew from past experience that chopping a Bartokk in half only increased the number of enemies to deal with, he figured that two half assassins would be easier to fight than one whole assassin.

The appearance of gold and green lightsabers did not deter the assassins one bit. Ten more appeared around Jacen, encircling him while five more came from outside the circle to attack Jacen at the same time. A huge blaster bolt lanced across Jacen's field of vision and four Bartokks disappeared. Another stream of light took out another four behind Jacen, and his lightsabers hacked and slashed the other two to pieces.

Finally having a second to assess the situation, Jacen saw Womprat manoeuvring through the air on his repulsors about three metres off the ground, firing at seven Bartokks with both precision and volume. About fifty Bartokks crawled from the access points across the roof and walls as they attempted to encircle the intruders, but Jacen was in the clear for a moment.

_There must be a nest of them._

Jacen reached out with his empathic abilities and touched the hive mind. It initially caught him off guard, but he pressed his mind deeper into their hive.

"They're protecting a queen," Jacen announced and cut off contact from the hive. "She made this place into a nest. I'm going after her."


End file.
